


Second choice

by villager_bxx



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Minor Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Slow Build, anything else im missing?, lev never checks his freakin phone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-22 20:36:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6093310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/villager_bxx/pseuds/villager_bxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things being as they are right now Lev can see he has two options. Either fess up and tell Yaku the truth, accepting the consequences and hopefully be able to gain his forgiveness or keep up the act Lev's found himself cornered into and explain to Alisa why he needs to borrow her clothes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> alternate summary: Lev likes trying on his sister's clothes sometimes, Alisa is the most supportive sister, and Yaku isn't sure which Haiba sibling he has a thing for

 

Lev is very aware that his sister is pretty.  
  
Heck anyone with eyes can tell that as far as he's concerned. So he's not surprised when his friends and teammates say so, in fact he agrees with them! Alisa's the best and if anyone knows this more than Lev, he'd like to meet them. He's always admired her and she'd always supported him but even considering that, it never felt good when it seemed like some people only became friends with him to spend more time with Alisa or even worse when they were actually interested in being friends with him only to find that they liked her more.  
  
He could never hate his sister for this fact of course, it wasn't her fault people were this way with her, but the way she made it seem so easy and flawless to attract positive attention kind of made Lev envy her in that regard.

  
Another person that Lev greatly admired, and slightly feared, was Yaku.

Yaku was the libero of their volleyball team and also seeing as Lev's grades in English were slipping lately, his tutor. Though they were nearly a whole meter apart in height, an exaggeration as Yaku liked to claim, Yaku was a tough senpai both on and off the court but when he taught Lev, he gave Lev his undivided attention and there was nothing that Lev loved more.  
  
Which was all the more reason as to why he was slightly terrified of Yaku meeting Alisa. He loved his sister and he loved spending time with Yaku so having the two meet would make sense since they were most definitely some of the most important people in Lev's life currently but the thought of the possibility of Yaku losing interest in him to Alisa instead and maybe even have her reciprocate since Lev often talked about him to Alisa and she seemed to think Yaku was as great as Lev did, it all made him feel almost protective but of what Lev had no idea since he was certain it wasn't for either person.  
  
Yaku knew of Lev's sister just as Alisa knew of Yaku, but unlike most of their teammates they'd never really met. Most of the team met Alisa one day when she'd visited the campus after finishing her own classes for the day and she'd attracted a lot of attention from them. Lucky for Lev, Yaku had been called back by a teacher to discuss an assignment of his and by the time he'd finally gotten to the gym for practice Alisa had gone home claiming she had homework but after this happened several times before he knew she really left for Lev's sake. As expected his teammates pestered him after that for more details about her and when Yaku finally arrived they bemoaned his missing her visit. Unexpectedly however Yaku only seemed mildly bothered by it.

  
"Oh, I missed your sister? Well, maybe next time."  
  
"Next time? Yaku-san, aren't you disappointed?"

  
Yaku had given him a strange look like he'd grown another two meters before responding. "Yeah, I guess. I mean you talk about her a lot so I'm kind of curious. She must be important to you though."  
  
The reason he was curious was because of Lev. Not everyone's comments on how amazing or angelic she was, but because of the constant praise Lev had dished out about her that apparently Yaku had been listening enough to to know this.  
  
The refreshing thought put a grin of Lev's face and made his stomach feel like it was flipping in happiness somehow with the knowledge someone was interested in his sister for once because of him and his stories of the silly and supportive things she'd done with and for him. He'd begun to cling more to Yaku after that, often asking to hang out instead of having all their one on one time spent together doing homework and receive practices. Yaku still hadn't accepted, always insisting he didn't have time for that sort of thing, but at least the rejections all seemed to be honest reasons unlike some of the responses he'd get when Lev would inform them that his sister would not be joining them.  
  
Eventually he did get Yaku to agree to come over to his place. For studying. That was alright by Lev though because he'd managed to pick the perfect time and date for it to happen where he could assure that Yaku's reason of being there was for Lev and Lev alone. Sure it was a little sneaky and deceptive but he reasoned as long as he wasn't found out everything was going to be fine and no one but him would know he'd purposely set up the ordeal during a time when Alisa just happened to be visiting some friends in Miyagi on the day that Yaku happened to be coming over to help him with his homework.  
  
That was one thing Lev never told anyone. That he and Alisa lived together. Their parents had decided around the time Lev was in his last year of high school that they would move to Russia to be closer to some of their more distant relatives and Lev being far too used to Tokyo, and not knowing a word of Russian other than the odd phrase he'd hear his family say, decide to stay with Alisa in her apartment, something she was more than willing to do for her little brother. Ever since then they'd been living together and ever since Lev's had to be ridiculously careful whenever he invited any friends over, less Alisa unintentionally steal their attention while Lev tried not to sulk on his own.  
  
There were exceptions to Alissa's charm of course, Kuroo and Kenma seemed to have a normal reaction to being around her, normal in a normal sense and not what was normal for her of course. Though Lev theorized that that was because the two of them were dating and didn't seem to have any interest in any other people to such an extent except each other. Hinata also was an exception to her effect, and while he did seem to get extremely flustered around her, his attention was easy to regain and that was his reaction to talking to most pretty girls anyways.  
  
Lev was anxious to see if Yaku was also an exception but more than that he was afraid that he wasn't and that was reason enough to keep him from meeting his sister for as long as possible.

  
Luck didn't seem to be on his side however as Alisa apparently had to cancel her visit to Miyagi after her friend had gotten sick and now when Yaku was supposed to come over, she'd be home. There was no way he was about to ask her if he could have the apartment to himself that night but a small part of him almost did. Instead Lev braced himself to tell Yaku that he had to reschedule their hang out/study session. He knew there was a fairly big probability that Yaku would just say to forget about it and just study as they have been but aside from his and Alisa's apartment there wasn't any other place that Lev could think of to move their study session that would leave it with just the two of them that could escalate to actually hanging out instead of just studying.

  
So when Yaku isn't at practice the next day, Lev isn't sure if he's more relieved or concerned for the reason behind his senior's sudden absence.

  
He asks Shibayama if he knows where the other libero had gone and is met with a surprised look.  
  
"Didn't you know? Yaku-san got sick, apparently he won't be coming to practice for a few days."

  
  
Lev's performance during practice was all over the place that day. He found himself getting more antsy as practice seemed to go on for far longer than it ever had ever felt before. For one of the first times since he'd began playing volleyball Lev couldn't wait for practice to be over so that he could go and finally text Yaku, maybe even visit him to see if he was doing ok. He doubted that though, Yaku never let Lev come over to his apartment let alone unannounced.  
  
When practice finally came to an end, Lev couldn't run out of the gym fast enough. Almost succeeding in skirting around doing his turn to help clean up the gym even if it hadn't been for Kuroo's yelling at him to do his part after his rather poor performance in practice.  
  
After not even five minuets of cleaning though, did Inuoka and Shibayama tell him to go on ahead, saying they'd finish cleaning up the gym for him. As sweet and considerate of a gesture it seemed, the other two first years were mildly relieved to have Lev finally gone so that they could actually leave the gym at a reasonable time in a decent state.  
  
Meanwhile, Lev wasted no time barely even changing completely before sending Yaku several frantic texts.

  
  
**_YAKU- SANNN_ **

  
**_I HEARD YOU GOT SICK IS EVERYTHYING OK?_ **

**_ARE YOU GOING TO BEOK TO PLAY LATER???_ **

**_YOU DONT HAVR TO QUIT THE TEAM OR ANYTHING RIGHT???_ **

**_PLEASE TELL ME THAT YOU ARENT YAKU-SAN_ **

  
_jeez even your texting is somehow loud_

_im fine ok i just have a cold_

  
**_ARE YOU SURE? YOU WANT ME TO COME OVER AND TAKE CARE OF YOU?_ **

**_I CAN IF YOU WANT ITS NO TROUBLE!!_ **

  
_NO god no_

  
**_:(_ **

  
**_Aww why not?_ **  
  
_i already told you im fine_

_but i dont think ill be better in time to tutor you this week so we'll have to reschedule_

_thats fine right?_

Lev stared at the phone screen, rereading it once, twice, and finally having it sink in the third time. He silently fist pumped, a broad grin spreading across his face before remembering to type out a response.

  
**_YEAH!!_ **

**_I MEAN, yeah! that's fine Yaku-san!! I don't mind!!_ **  
  
_ok good_

_dont think just cause im sick that you should slack off ok?_

**_KAY~ (≧∇≦)/_ **

\--  
_Lev?_

  
**_HII ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/_ **

  
_i still have no idea how you do those_

 _anyways, remember when i had to cancel coming over to your place to study?_  
  
**_HUH?_ **

**_oh, yeah. what about it??_ **  
  
_i have some free time next friday, is it alright if i come over then?_  
  
**_hmm...i think so!_ **  
  
_wow only one exclamation point_

 _alright, i'll be over around 5 does that sound good?_  
  
**_sounds great!!_ **

**_I'll see you then, Yaku-san!!!_ **  
  
_and DON'T forget it and go off to make other plans ok?_  
  
**_I know, I_ _know!! What do you take me for Yaku-san?_**  
  
_someone that needs to be reminded consecutively to remember what class he has that day_  
  
_**D: rude** _

  
  
He ended up forgetting.  
  
Well, not entirely. Lev knew that he and Yaku were scheduled to meet up some time before the weekend at his apartment but he'd forgotten about what time it was at and any time he'd remember to check, Lev's attention would be grabbed by something else entirely.  
  
Now it was Friday, the one day Lev rarely had any plans since most of his friends still had classes that day and practice wouldn't start until 7:30. Usually on days like this he'd just laze around the apartment while Alisa went out to work and occasionally meet up with some of her classmates afterwards. But only when he was certain that he was alone, with no chance of being interrupted did Lev busy himself with something only his sister had known about only by accident.  
  
Lev grew up always knowing the fact that his older sister was pretty. She'd often receive comments and compliments about it, and Lev would as well about his own looks though they'd often be dampened slightly by the obvious turned off reactions his energetic personality would raise.  
  
He'd never much minded these reactions, but had sometimes wondered what it was about his sister that received better comments usually. In Lev's opinion the two siblings looked rather similar aside from some obvious differences, so he'd always wondered what it was about her that got the more positive responses.  
  
To test this out, Lev had at one point when he was home alone tested out a theory that maybe it was the way they dressed that made the difference. Much to his surprise however, where at first he'd thought that maybe trying on his older sister's clothes would be considered rather weird, he actually hadn't much minded it. It was actually kind of fun, and her clothing was rather comfortable. He could see what a difference the clothes made but since they were his sister's, he knew he couldn't do this in public.  
  
That didn't stop him from trying them on as much as possible however. Whenever he knew he could get away with it, Lev would sneak away into his sister's room adjacent to his and try on her clothes. It seemed to go well for a while, that is until one day when Alisa came home early and caught him red handed before he could hide the evidence. Much to his surprise though, she wasn't angry at him. More than anything she was surprised and even seemed supportive of it, going as far as promising to keep her little Lyovochka's secret from their parents.  
  
Several years later, Lev was still rummaging through her closet when he had the apartment to himself. Though Alisa had insisted that it was ok, even asking if he'd like to go get some clothing similar to hers for himself, Lev declined saying he was fine wearing them only in private at home sometimes and didn't really need any of his own unless it really bothered her. Alisa had told him it didn't, so long as he put everything back neatly the way he'd originally found it if he wore it. He still thought this for the most part but that couldn't stop him from wondering what would happen if he decided to buy some of his own and instead wear those clothes out.  
  
Lev pushed the idea out to the back of his mind. Alisa would be out for most of the day, and even though he knew she had no problems with his wearing her clothes Lev still felt just the tiniest bit self conscious doing it with his sister home. So knowing she'd not be back for a while put his mind slightly at ease.

At least until the knocking at their door completely broke that to pieces.  
  
Lev silently prayed that whoever it was would go away, too frozen in place to even think about trying to change back into his own clothes that had been strewn somewhere across the floor of Alisa's room.  
  
When the sound of the door gently opening reached Lev's ears he felt a wave of relief wash over him. If they just let themselves in it must be Alisa coming back early. No one else had a key to their place after all, and it wasn't like they had left the door unlocked.  
  
"Um, pardon the intrusion. Is Lev here?"  
  
Crap.  
  
Lev didn't dare turn around to face Yaku, who apparently had let himself in and was standing in the doorway behind him. How was he supposed to explain this to him? Would Yaku think it's weird? That Lev was a pervert? Would Yaku want nothing to do with him after finding out about this? Oh god not that. Lev didn't think he could deal with that if Yaku just stopped being there in his life. Oh god. Oh god ohgodohgod ohGOD-  
  
"Are...you his sister? Alisa right? Lev's told me a lot about you. He really admires you."  
  
Wait. What?  
  
There's no way... Lev knew he and is sister looked similar but anyone could tell the two of them apart, that he was a guy even in his sister's clothing...right? He tentatively peeked over his shoulder at his senpai and-wait did Yaku just blush?  
  
"Uh..." _what the heck? why is he blushing? why is Yaku-san blushing at me? is he embarrassed for me for getting caught? no way it must be something else why would Yaku-san ever-_  
  
"I can see what the team meant when they said you were eye catching..." Yaku mumbled. He didn't meet Lev's eyes and yep that was definitely a blush ok what is happening.  
  
There was no way Yaku didn't recognize Lev.

  
There's no way he actually believed that he was Alisa  
  
"Yaku-san?"  
  
Yaku jumped at Lev's voice. There was no way that he'd not recognize Lev by his voice. He'd heard it almost every day after all. Besides even if he didn't recognize it as Lev's voice no one in their right mind would believe Lev was a girl.  
  
"You, uh, know my name?"  
  
Oh my god.  
  
"Uh, yeah! My-I...I mean L-Lyovo..ch-chka? talks about you often!" Lev smiled nervously trying to keep calm, inwardly cursing himself for flubbing his sister's pet name for him.  
  
"Oh. Well, I was supposed to come over today and help him with his schoolwork. Is he not here?"  
  
Now that was another problem entirely. How was he supposed to have his studying time with Yaku if he thought he was Alisa? It wasn't like he could just go and change back into what he was previously wearing, Yaku was sure to ask about Alisa later there was no way that he could just avoid that. Unless...  
  
"He's...um out at the moment, yeah! I asked him to...go get some stuff from the store so he should be back soon you should wait for him here!"  
  
Lev silently hoped that he sounded convincing enough to get Yaku to believe him, but he believed his senpai was way too smart to actually fall for that pitiful excuse he'd given. Or worse, that he'd believe it so much that when Lev returned with his own clothes he'd be yelled at for seemingly forgetting about their plans to study together. Lev wasn't sure which outcome would be worse.  
  
"Alright I guess. Should I just wait out here or?"  
  
He nodded frantically. "Yeah! Yes! That's fine! Actually, now that I think about it I think I forgot to do something as well! Very important, I should get going but um...Lev will be back soon! I think. Just wait there and uh-"  
  
"I get it. Maybe I should call him to see how long he'll be."  
  
Lev's eyes became wide in panic and he lunged forward desperately grabbing Yaku's hands before they could reach into his pocket to pull out his phone.  
  
"NO! I-I mean, he left his phone here! So, even if you were to call him he wouldn't get it until he came back anyways!"  
  
Yaku stared up at him wide eyed, the blush from earlier slowly returning full force as his eyes drifted down to their interlocked hands, then away in embarrassment. Lev followed his gaze then upon noticing that he was still clutching onto Yaku's smaller hands for dear life, let go like the contact had burned.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Yaku-san! I didn't mean to-"  
  
"It's fine! I...I mean, it's alright. It doesn't bother me."  
  
Lev stared at him in concern. This wasn't like the Yaku he knew at all. Usually whenever he and Yaku were together, the older boy had no trouble expressing his discontent with Lev's actions, telling him-cwell more yelling at him -to pay attention and stop messing around. This Yaku however seemed almost overly polite and flustered at any casual contact that normally would have earned Lev a stern look and a harsh slap at the very least.  
  
Then a thought came to him.  
  
"Yaku-san, do you...have a soft spot for girls?"  
  
If his face wasn't flushed before it certainly was now. Had it been a normal occurrence Lev would have expected a sudden kick to the back of his knees or to be yelled at. This wasn't a normal occurrence however, and instead all Lev got in return was a stuttering senpai looking far more nervous than he'd ever seen him before.  
  
"Wait, is it because I'm Le-I MEAN Ly-L-Lyovolv-ch..chka's sibling?"  
  
Yaku looked away sharply, suddenly seeming to have a very intense interest in the floorboards. "No. Not really...Anyone would, I mean...someone a-as stunning as you would be...um uh." He shook his head and glared at the floor between them.  
  
"There's nothing that odd about being polite to nice looking girls, is there?"  
  
Lev was speechless. _I don't really get how someone can look like a nice person, but that may be the nicest thing Yaku-san's ever said to me!_ He smiled brightly at what seemed to be a genuine compliment from his senior. "Aww, Yaku-san! That was actually kind of nice from you!"  
  
Panicking at Yaku's taken aback expression Lev quickly gathered up his clothes that he'd abandoned on the floor. "Well, ah I better be going! Lev-uhh Lyvolvo..chka? should be back soon so just um, wait here!"  
  
Not wasting a second Lev quickly ran out of the apartment and down the hallway. Once he was sure he was far enough away Lev thought over what his option were. He could try and make it down to the lobby into the bathroom and change but that'd risk being recognized. He could always try and ask one of the neighbors if he could change in their apartment instead but that would only raise more questions. The only other option Lev could think of was hoping the utility closet by the elevator was unlocked and change in there at risk of being caught.  
  
Closet it is.  
  
After a quick scuffle in the dark Lev finally managed to wrestle his way out of Alisa's clothing and back into his own. He hoped Yaku wouldn't realize what had just happened and bought "Alisa's" story. Lev braced himself for whatever would await him once he opened his apartment door. Wait.  
  
Lev knocked frantically.  
  
"YAKU-SAAAAN!!"

  
\--

Yaku shifted from where he was sitting on the floor next to Lev checking his answers on the practice worksheet they were doing. He glanced over at the nervous half Russian who had been biting his lip in anxious anticipation at what his score was.  
  
He sighed and marked the last question wrong. "Well, you're doing better but you're still not getting some of these concepts down. It's a lot better than when I'd started tutoring you though so there's at least some improvement."  
  
At that Lev's expression instantly brightened and nearly knocked Yaku over in a crushing hug. "Really? You think so? It's probably because you're such a good teacher! Thanks for all your help, Yaku-san!!" He nuzzled his face into the libero's hair affectionately, hardly paying any mind to his frantic wriggling.  
  
Eventually Yaku managed to pull himself free of Lev's vice-like hold a stern scolding on his lips before biting it back after seeing the wide delighted smile Lev directed at him. He sighed. "Oh, by the way I met your sister before you got here."  
  
Lev's smile stiffened. "Oh, really? Haha, yeah she's pretty cool right?" _Please don't notice Please don't notice!!_  
  
Yaku hummed in response, fiddling with his pen with a thoughtful expression. "Yeah. I can see why you like her so much. She seemed nice. Not to mention I understand why the team said she put the eye in eye candy."  
  
Ok what.  
  
Forcing a grin in agreement as he usually would in such a situation Lev cheerily replied, "Right? People are always telling her that. Did you know when she was in high school, she'd get a lot of offers to be a model or an idol? It still happens sometimes too! I'm not sure how she deals with it."  
  
"Huh. Her partner must have a lot to deal with then hmm?"  
  
Lev blinked at his senpai in surprise.  
  
"Partner? Alisa isn't dating anyone right now."  
  
After a beat of silence Lev looked over to Yaku who was staring at the taller boy in what looked like disbelief. "No way, she's single? Is that...by choice or just..?"  
  
"She's just not really been looking for anyone recently. Though, I think she mentioned one time that she wouldn't mind dating someone...maybe she just hasn't found anyone she's interested in? Or no one's actually asked her in a while" Lev paused for a moment to recount the last time Alisa went on a date."Now that I think about it, I think she's actually pretty willing to have at least one date with someone if they interest her, so maybe it _has_ been a while since she was asked out."  
  
Though Lev was now more talking aloud to himself- completely forgetting that the 'Alisa' Yaku was talking about was actually him -Yaku seemed to be deeply considering the new information.  
  
"Why'd you ask anyway, Yaku-san?"  
  
He remained quiet for a moment.  
  
"I think I might try and ask her out."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this turned out a lot longer than i planned, so that being said im not sure exactly when the next chapter will be but im going to be aiming for the same time next week but who knows i just wanted to write about Yaku mistaking Lev as Alisa
> 
> anyways like always feel free to leave comments, kudos, all of that and if you see any mistakes i made please tell me and ill to fix it, thanks for reading!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lev and Yaku go out, or more Yaku and Alisa do while Lev has reservations about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate summary: Lev has the worst luck and is a very bad liar, not that Yaku notices

Their study session didn't even come close to what Lev had hoped for.

  
  
Besides the initial awkwardness of having been walked in on in his sister's clothing and then proceeding to pretend to be her, when he'd gotten to change and actually spend time with Yaku he'd actually almost wished they'd been only studying.  
  
Forget hanging out and becoming better friends with him, now Lev was presented with an even bigger problem.  
  
Yaku had said he wanted to date Alisa, and not even the real Alisa but Lev pretending to be her. That had done more than enough damage to his mood for the day. If that had been Yaku's reaction to him as Alisa then Lev could only imagine how much more infatuated he'd become when he'd meet the real one.  
  
Afternoon practice later that day was probably the worst he'd ever gone through. As much as he would have liked to try and distract himself from the reality of it, the fact that Yaku preferred Alisa over him came back to remind him every time he looked at him. It wasn't like he'd thought the idea of it was impossible, he'd just held onto what little hope there was that maybe Yaku was actually going to have a normal reaction to his sister.  
  
Spacing out and sulking during practice of course eventually lead to Lev getting nailed by several balls and having most of his serves either be hit way out of bounds or hit the net to fall pathetically back on his side of the court.  
  
Lev groaned in frustration. _Why did I do that? Well I know why I did that but why did it have to end like that?_  
  
"Ok what's wrong with you today?"  
  
"Y-Yaku-san!!"  
  
Lev jumped in surprise at Yaku's sudden appearance in front of him. _Have I really been spacing out this much? Where did he come from?!_ "What do you mean? Everything's fine."  
  
He deadpanned at the lie then sighed exasperatedly. "Come with me." Yaku grabbed Lev's wrist, dragging him towards the gym's exit. When they were finally a good distance away from the doors he let go and turned to face Lev. The latter ignoring how cold his wrist suddenly felt after.  
  
"Now will you tell me what's wrong? You've been off all of practice."  
  
Lev fidgeted in place. "I told you Yaku-san, it's nothing!"  
  
"...Is it about what I said earlier?"  
  
"Huh? What did you say earlier?" _Please have this be over soon. I don't want to think about this anymore._  
  
"When I said that I was thinking about asking out your sister, did that kind of freak you out?" Yaku stared intensely at him, as if trying to pull out an answer by that alone.  
  
"That? Heheh...Well I mean it was sudden and all but I mean it's fine." _It's not like this hasn't happened before._ "She's always been the type who easily attracts people, so that didn't really surprise me." _Now's the part where he asks for her number or when he can meet up with her again._  
  
"But does it bother you? Cause you looked kind of uncomfortable thinking about it." Yaku looked over his features, clearly concerned. "If it does, I won't bring it up again. I'd just thought it'd be nice to get to know her a little since you're always talking about her."  
  
At this Lev blinked down at him in surprise. That's...new? Before he could think better of it Lev asked, "You mean you don't want to date her?"  
  
Yaku shrugged. "Well, no I mean I kind of do but maybe date is the wrong word for it? It's not like I really know her."  
  
"...But you want to?" Lev asked after a moment. "Cause, she's free today" _what am I doing_ "I could ask her for you if she'd like to hang out sometime later." _stop you're making this worse than it has it be._  
  
Though it was clear he tried to hide it, Yaku's eyes lit up hopefully. Something about that made Lev's heart clench painfully. "Really? And you're sure that you're ok with that? Even if it's just hanging out?" Yaku asked warily.  
  
"Mhmm! Yeah, you'll see it'll be a lot of fun! Just you and Alisa, you'll have a great time!"  
  
Yaku looked him over carefully, Lev hoping for once that he couldn't see through his lie as the libero usually did in most cases. "Ok, if you're sure." he said after a while, then decidedly droped the subject as he began walking back to the doors to the gym. Before he got too far though Yaku stopped and turned to face Lev again. "And there's nothing else bothering you?"  
  
Lev shook his head, grin firmly in place. "No, why would there be?"  
  
"C'mon then, let's get back to practice." Yaku sighed, continuing onto the entrance.  
  
"Alright!"  
  
Lev waited until the upperclassmen disappeared into the gym to let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding in. Shoulders slumping, he ran his hands over his face groaning at what just happened. _Why did I have to say that? I could have just said it made me uncomfortable and then Yaku-san would have forgotten about all of this. Ahh no I know why I said that. It's cause I wanted to spend some time actually hanging out with Yaku-san instead of having him teaching me. Except he's not even going to be hanging out with me, he'll be with 'Alisa'._  
  
Walking back into the gym trying to keep up with his normal energetic demeanor proved difficult with the anxiety inducing thoughts running through Lev's mind. _What am I going to do now? He thinks I'm Alisa, and the actual Alisa really is going to be home for the rest of the day later. Is she going to be mad about this? Nah, Alisa won't be mad but she won't be happy either._  
  
Where it seemed like practice was going on dreadfully long, it now ended way too soon as Lev agonized how the rest of the evening would go.  
  
\--  
  
Seeing how things were, when Lev got home he reasoned he had two options.  


  1. Tell Yaku the truth, hope he isn't too angry with him and beg for forgiveness
  2. Explain to Alisa why it was that he needed to borrow her clothes for the night



  
Lev didn't like the idea of either.  
  
On one hand if he told Yaku the truth he'd undeniably be mad at him and there was no telling what kind of effect it would have on their current relationship. On the other hand though, if he had to explain the ordeal to Alisa Lev could already tell that he wouldn't be able to lie to her, he's never been able to.  
  
She'd probably tell him to confess about what happened to Yaku, something Lev himself knew he should have already done. For the moment though, his fear over losing his beloved- wait, was that the right word? -senpai overruled logic. Besides, when he did tell him if things really did go as bad as Lev feared they would, at least by then he would have gotten a chance to hang out with him like he'd wanted.  
  
So option 2 it was then.  
  
Before she came home he had to figure out just how exactly to tell her 'hey nee-chan! listen I need you to do me a little favor. You see, you know Yaku-san? Yeah the senpai I always talk about? Well he came over today to help me study but I had forgotten about it and here's the funny thing, when he came in I was wearing your clothes and assumed I was you! Yeah so he kinda has a thing for you, well me as you, and wanted me to ask you-me technically-to hang out today so I need to borrow your clothes to wear out so I can pretend to be you!' so far any ideas he had on how to say this sounded equally ridiculous  
  
"Lyovochka! I'm home!"  
  
Lev took a deep breath. It's now or never.  
  
Walking into the hall Lev could see Alisa at the genkan pulling off her shoes, the small smile on her face disappearing once she saw him.  
  
"Lyovochka? What's the matter?" she asked, a worried expression overtaking her features. Lev inwardly winced, he hated making her worry like this.  
  
"Um, nee-chan? I need to ask you something."  
  
She nodded, gesturing for him to follow her into the living room. Alisa sat down on their couch while Lev fidgeted next to her still standing. She bit her lip and leaned closer to him. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?"  
  
Lev opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to collect his thoughts finally deciding it'd be better if he just came out and said it.  
  
"I need to borrow some of your clothes to wear out tonight."  
  
The few moments of silence that followed stretched on for far longer than Lev would have liked as he determinedly kept eye contact with her.  
  
Alisa nodded to tell him to go one but Lev stayed silent. Finally she asked, "I-Is that all?"  
  
"...Yes?"  
  
She let herself relax back against the couch finally looking away. "Oh! Well you didn't need to get so worked up over that!" Alisa said, relieved. "Of course you can borrow them, Lyovochka."  
  
Lev smiled and allowed himself to relax as well. That wasn't so bad! She didn't even ask why he suddenly needed them, what was he so worried about?

  
"Though, do you mind me asking why you suddenly decided to wear them out? Usually you only wear them at home, so is there a particular reason why you're now changing your mind about it?"  
  
There it was. Lev mentally cursed himself for jinxing his brief luck.  
  
"I'm...well I'm going out with a friend." _maybe if I keep it vague she wont ask and eventually get bored of it?_  
  
"Oh? Are you doing anything special?" Alisa asked, seeming even more interested than before.  
  
He rubbed his neck nervously. _I didn't even tell him yet that 'Alisa' said yes yet._ "We um, haven't decided yet. We're probably going to just go out and get something to eat, maybe do something after."  
  
"Uh-huh..." Alisa eyed him up and down carefully. "And that's all?"  
  
Lev nodded. "Yeah pretty much! I should get ready soon actually." he glanced to the doorway leading to the hall."So, can you help me pick out something nice?"  
  
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You want me to help?"  
  
"For...a second opinion, to make sure I look fine!"  
  
Alisa smiled brightly before getting up and walking over to her room. "Of course I'll help you Lyovochka!"  
  
Lev let out a sigh of relief. That seemed to turn out alright for the most part, and he really was grateful that Alisa had agreed to help him dress for when he met up with Yaku later. That had honestly been one of the things he was unsure about, because while he had had a decent enough idea of what did and didn't look good together when wearing Alisa's clothes, he'd been nervous about looking presentable for some reason even though he'd made it clear that they were only hanging out.  
  
When he walked into her room, Alisa had already started picking out pieces from her closet, scrutinizing each one thoroughly.  
  
"Hmm, which one..." she held up two skirts, comparing them.  
  
Lev pointed out a knee length navy skirt. "I've always liked that one, nee-chan."  
  
Alisa looked where he was pointing and picked it up, smiling in approval. "This is nice!" She held it up against him, inspecting it for a moment before redirecting her smile at Lev. "You have a good eye, Lyovochka! Are you sure you even need me to help you dress for your date?"  
  
"Sure I do! For all I know I could accidentally end up look-" Lev froze, realizing what she'd said. A dark blush already making its way onto his face he gaped at Alisa's knowing smile.  
  
"Oh boy, you really are too easy to read." She rested a hand on her cheek giving Lev a sympathetic smile. "That's why you wanted to dress up extra special right?"  
  
Lev's face burned with how furiously he was blushing. He shook his head frantically. "N-no, what? I just felt like dressing a little differently today that's all!" He winced at how loud his voice was.  
  
Alisa stared at him patiently, waiting for a honest explanation.  
  
"...Since, he thinks that I'm you." Lev sighed in defeat. He'd never known how she always managed to get him to spill his guts to her with little to no effort.  
  
She blinked in surprise. "Me? Why would your date think that you're me?"  
  
Finally submitting to the pressure, Lev told Alisa everything. How he forgot about Yaku coming over, him walking in on Lev trying on her clothes- something Alisa sheepishly apologized for, claiming she swore she'd locked the door on her way out -and mistaking him as her, everything even up to when he agreed to set Yaku up on a date with 'Alisa'.  
  
She remained quiet for a moment to allow the information to sink in. "Lyovochka-"  
  
"I know I should just tell him the truth! But I just...what if he thinks I'm weird? Or if he wants to stop being around me? He's going to be so angry with me, and I mean I'm used to that, but what if he doesn't forgive me this time? Like he thinks I was playing a joke on him or-"  
  
"LEV! Calm down." Alisa had to firmly grab Lev's shoulders to get him to stop rambling his worries. She sighed looking back at Lev's wide eyed stare. "Listen, if he thinks that you're weird for doing something that you enjoy then he is not worth your time. You shouldn't have to worry so much about what Yaku-kun will think of you."  
  
"But-!"  
  
"No, buts! Look, you've always been so considerate of the feelings of people you admire, but you shouldn't make yourself miserable in the process. You need to think of yourself too." Alisa loosened her grip on him, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.  
  
Lev looked away slightly ashamed and embarrassed. "That's kind of the reason why I agreed to go out." he replied quietly replied in a sheepish tone. "I thought...if Yaku-san didn't want to spend time with me then maybe it'd be ok to spend time with him even though he thought I was you."  
  
Her gaze softened as Alisa pulled her brother in for a tight hug.  
  
"Oh, Lyovochka...You can't make someone spend time with you if they don't want to. But, if this is Yaku-kun we're talking about, I thought he did spend a lot of extra time with you?"  
  
He let out a slightly bitter laugh. "Yeah, to help me with receives and homework. That's not exactly fun though."  
  
"But he still does it for you right?"  
  
Lev stayed silent.  
  
They remained like that for a moment before Alisa pulled back to smile warmly at him. "I won't tell you what to do, but I do think that you should tell him the truth. Just tell him what you told me, he'll understand." She gave him a brief kiss on the forehead similar to when he was little then stepped back to look into her closet again.  
  
"But, if you're still insisting on going on this date with him we should hurry up and find something for you to wear, hmm?"  
  
Lev stared at her, considering what she'd said. "Yeah. Ok, thanks Alisa."  
  
He's never been more thankful than then that Alisa was his sister.  
  
_\--_  
  
**_HEY!! YAKU-SAN!!_**  
  
_what is it?_  
  
**_Remember during practice when I said that I'd ask my sister if shed like to hang out?_**  
  
_...yeah?_  
  
**_SHE SAID YES!! WHEN DO YOU WANNA MEET UP WITH HER?_**  
  
_wait what? are you serious?_  
  
**_Yeah? why wouldn't i be didn't you want to??_**  
  
_well i mean yeah, i just didnt expect you to actually ask_  
  
**_??? I said I would though!_**  
  
_nevermind, so what did she say exactly?_  
  
**_I already told you! she said she'd love to hang out with you, so what time do you want to meet?_**  
  
_shouldn't i be asking her this myself?_  
  
_Lev?_  
  
**_she um doesnt have a phone, so she told me to ask for her!_**  
  
_ok? well tell her ive got nothing going on tomorrow_  
  
**_tomorrow? i thought you wanted to meet up today??_**  
  
_no youre the one who said that. even if i did, i can't. im stuck at school_  
  
**_huh??? what do you mean?_**  
  
_exactly what i said. i can't. ive got a lot of assignments to finish_  
  
**_aww D: when do you think youll be done?_**  
  
_about a half hour? maybe an hour and a half? i dont know, but even if we were to meet up after it probably wouldn't be for too long_  
  
I'll take anything at this point.  
  
**_it's fine!! besides she really wants to get to know you too, and she's gonna be pretty busy with work and school stuff soon_ _so it's probably gonna be a while before Alisa has another chance to_**  
  
_you seem more excited about this than anyone? what's going on?_  
  
**_nothing! just being the messenger!_**  
  
_fine. only if she wants to, ill try and finish early tell her to meet me in front of the library in 35 min then ok?_  
  
**_got it!! have fun on your date yaku-san!!!_**  
  
_WAIT DATE? LEV JUST WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?!_  
_LEV!!_  
  
\--  
  
A half hour later Lev found himself waiting outside of their campus's library, jittery with nerves in a loose lavender blouse and the same navy blue skirt he'd picked out earlier. Everything but the worn red sneakers belonging to Alisa as the siblings realized too late that there was no way that Lev would be able to wear any of her several sizes smaller heels or flats. Something Lev was slightly thankful for, just thinking about trying to learn how to walk in those before meeting up with Yaku filled him with a completely different panic than the thought of him being found out for the shoes he was wearing.  
  
It took nearly everything he had in him not to just give up and go home, completely forgoing the date- something Alisa made him admit the meet up actually being before allowing him to leave. Aside from the nerves associated with the thought of going on a date with Yaku, an idea that both exhilarated and terrified Lev though the former vastly overtook the latter, the little voice that sounded oddly like his sister in the back of his mind telling him that he should stop lying already kept poking at him.  
  
Two minuets passed and Lev had probably checked the time on his phone about thirty times. Was this how teenage girls felt waiting for their first dates? Lev gnawed nervously at his bottom lip, biting down a little harder every time a passerby so much as glanced at him. _Please hurry up, Yaku-san!_  
  
Every time the doors opened Lev looked over in excitement hoping to see his short senpai walking out, but so far every time he had it was someone else and he deflated in disappointment at the thought of waiting longer. Even though it had only been a few minutes it didn't take long for Lev to stop checking the entrance every time the harsh noise the doors made sounded, so when he felt a hesitant tap on his shoulder from behind Lev all but jumped out of his skin.  
  
Yaku stumbled back a few steps, startled. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you there."  
  
"Yaku-san!" Lev winced at the volume of his voice, turning to face him with an embarrassed blush. "It's fine, you didn't scare me! I just didn't hear you come out."  
  
He gave Lev a concerned look "Did I keep you waiting long? Sorry, I was trying to finish as fast as I could. I didn't mean to keep you."  
  
Shaking his head Lev put up his hands in a placating manner. "No it's fine, really! I wasn't waiting that long, I actually came a little early!"  
  
Yaku's cheeks pinked with a faint blush before he looked away, embarrassed. "You didn't need to do that."  
  
"It fine! I wanted to anyways!" Lev beamed at the shorter boy. "What are we doing anyways, Yaku-san?"  
  
He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pants' pockets. "Anything's fine with me if you had something you wanted to do."  
  
Lev's face broke out into a wide grin. "Really? Cause I know this one place that has really good food, and it's not really expensive either!" He continued rambling on how it was even by a movie theater so if Yaku was ok with it they could go watch something after.  
  
While they began walking down to the station, the tall middle blocked tried to brush off Yaku's softened stare and amused smile due to the fact that he was tired after the long day but that couldn't stop a distant ache in his chest.  
  
\--  
  
_It's just for a few hours, you can handle this._  
  
_It was your idea, it'll be fine._  
  
Lev kept repeating those words for nearly the entire time it took them to reach the small cafe, his initial nerves of being found out finally beginning to fade but also being overcome with the nerves of the thought of this being a date.  
  
_What am I even supposed to do on a date?_  
  
_It can't be that different from just hanging out right?_  
  
"So, um I don't know what Lev told you but I was under the impression that we were just going to hang out" Yaku kept from looking directly at the other boy, fidgeting in his seat while they waited for their order to be called out.  
  
_Ehh?! So he doesn't see this as one after all! See, I told you nee-chan!_  
  
Letting out a breath he'd been unconsciously holding in, Lev visibly relaxed in his own seat across from Yaku.  
  
"Ahh, right! Sorry, sometimes L-lyovolchka can misread the situation. B-but you shouldn't be too hard on him! He does mean well! Honest!" Lev spoke quickly, eyes nervously scanning over his senpai's reaction.  
  
Surprisingly enough, when Yaku finally looked up at him he seemed taken aback. "I know, he does that a lot. Actually, he seemed a little uncomfortable when I said I wanted to get to know you better, but it's uh pretty obvious he misunderstood."  
  
Lev frowned. Why is he lying? Before he said he wanted to date her now he doesn't want anything to do with that sort of thing.  
  
_Maybe he actually does prefer me over her?_  
  
"I mean I'm his senpai so I guess I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure he's ok? Lev aside though, I didn't mean to make this weird or anything by making you think this was a date. That wasn't what I wanted at all." Yaku assured awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"What did you want then?" Lev asked honestly, peering across the table at the older boy.  
  
At this Yaku looks like he actually doesn't have an answer but when he finally opens his mouth to respond their order number is called out and he excuses himself to go and get it for them. Lev watches him as he walks away before resting his head on the table's cool surface.  
  
_What's wrong with me today?_  
  
_Shouldn't this just be like anything else we've done together?_  
  
_This is supposed to be fun...oh well, at least we're alone._  
  
"Lev?"  
  
He stiffens as a voice curiously calls out his name. Slowly Lev turns in the direction the voice came from and his heart nearly stops. Standing a foot away from their table is Kenma, who is looking over Lev in his current attire in mild confusion.  
  
"Um..." _Oh great! How am I supposed to explain this to him! He's already met Alisa- no wait what am I kidding even if he hadn't he wouldn't believe that I'm her. I'm still not even sure how Yaku did._ Sheepishly Lev waves at him slowly with a panicked forced smile plastered on his face. "H-hi, Kenma-san! What uh, what are you doing here?"  
  
Kenma gives him an unreadable, questioning look. "Me and Kuro come here all the time. It's by our apartment." He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world and Lev can practically feel himself sweating under his scrutinizing stare.  
  
"Was that Yaku with you?" He doesn't seem to have any questions as to why it is that Lev's wearing a woman's skirt and blouse and Lev isn't sure if that's due to disinterest or if he's deliberately ignoring the fact.  
  
"Um, y-yeah he just went to go get our food...wait, you mentioned Kuroo, he's not with you is he?"  
  
Before Kenma has a chance to answer Kuroo comes walking up to them with a tray of food- alongside Yaku.  
  
In manga and anime, Lev had always thought that whenever a character would be mortified in a situation and their soul would leave their body that it was a drastic dramatization.  
  
In that moment he took all that back and immediately empathized with every one of them.  
  
Once Kuroo caught sight of him his eyebrows shot up in surprise and he would have made some sort of comment at Lev's appearance had Kenma not taken the chance to quickly grab his drink and harshly elbow his boyfriend in the side.  
  
"Ow!! Kenma what the heck was that for?!"  
  
"Hi Yaku."  
  
Kenma gave the libero a short nod in greeting while Kuroo rubbed sorely at his side, pouting. Yaku waved in turn, unsure of what it what he had just witnessed between the couple. "Hi...uh, here's your milkshake, Alisa."  
  
Kuroo wheezed a short laugh that was quickly shut up by a sharp glare from his boyfriend. "Sorry, sorry. So, you two on a date or something?" Kuroo asked looking between the other two.  
  
Yaku's cheeks reddened. "No, we're just hanging out. I only really met her today."  
  
"Ohh, I see." Kuroo turned his gaze to Lev, who gave him a pleading look. He gave Lev a knowing smile before returning his attention to Yaku. "Well we won't keep you guys, have fun on your not-date." Kuroo slung an arm around Kenma and directed them to another table.  
  
"Well that wasn't weird at all." Yaku said sarcastically wearily watching the pair as they left. "You met them before I'm guessing? Even Kenma?"  
  
Lev nodded. "Yeah, I um visited during practice one time. I didn't see you there though." It wasn't a lie, even though both Kuroo and Kenma had actually met Alisa before that.  
  
"Yeah I think I know when you're talking about, the entire team was talking about you that day. I had to do some stuff for school so I came to practice late. But wait then when did you meet Kenma?"  
  
Lev racked his brain for when Alisa had actually first met Kenma. He wasn't on the team and rarely ever came to games so he couldn't use volleyball as an excuse. All he could remember was that Kuroo was there and had felt it necessary to make a little show that he and Kenma were dating much to his and Kenma's dismay.  
  
"Um...I don't remember exactly but Kuroo introduced us." Lev made a vague gesture. "It was a while ago and a lot's happened since then." He gave a nervous laugh then took a quick bite of the pastry he ordered to hopefully end the conversation. It didn't quite work though as Yaku's eyes were fixed on him the whole time expectantly waiting for him to continue.  
  
He tried a reassuring smile. "But we've been talking a lot about me, so what about you?" Lev leaned forward, eyes wide with interest. "Le-uh Lyvolochka really admires you, so I'm curious." _Just talk like you normally would...only pretend that you are Alisa at the same time oh god._  
  
"...Does he? I mean, he talks about you all the time saying how much fun you are and how much you care for each other. I can't really picture him having much to say about me." Yaku talked distractedly, idly sipping at his coffee. "I haven't really done much that would warrant anything like that."  
  
Yaku stiffened suddenly, his expression turning unreadable to Lev. "Unless he was saying negative things about me."  
  
"What? No." Lev shook his head slowly, brow furrowing. "Why would you say that? You're so nice to him! Sure you can be kinda hard on him and get mad when he does something wrong, but you're really reliable! You've always been there for me-HIM!"  
  
_Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap. I messed up he knows now. ummm maybe he didn't notice? please tell me he didn't._  
  
After a moment of agonizing silence Lev made himself look up to face Yaku. Instead of confusion or anger or whatever he'd been anticipating Yaku to be, the libero actually seemed awed at what Lev had said.  
  
"..You really think he sees me like that?" Yaku quietly asked.  
  
Lev nodded earnestly, thankful that his slip up had gone unnoticed. "Of course! Why wouldn't he? You're his favorite senpai after all!" he gave Yaku a genuine smile. "Anyone would be lucky to have someone like you look after them like he does, that's why he wants to spend extra time with you, to be closer!" _As long as I'm being honest might as well get this all out now while Yaku-san still wants to talk to 'me'._  
  
After taking another sip of his drink, Yaku laughed hollowly. "I appreciate you saying that but there's a reason why I always say no when he asks to hang out like this. I don't think I'd be able to stand getting any closer to Lev than how it is now."  
  
_Ok that hurts._ Lev frowned but for the most part masked his hurt for offense. "Hey! What do you mean you couldn't stand it? Do you actually not like him?"  
  
"No it's not that it's just... sorry that probably sounded really bad. He's not a bad person but he can be a bit much to be around sometimes. Lev can be a handful sometimes and a bit too excitable but that's just how he is, it's not like I can hold that against him." A small smile slowly made its way on Yaku's face. "It can be difficult being around him when you're not used to it. But if we were around each other any more I might not be able to..."  
  
Whatever daze Yaku had been in after speaking he quickly shook himself out of it, offering an apologetic smile to Lev. "Sorry, you asked about me and all I did was insult your brother. We just have a bit of an odd relationship so I'm just trying to keep things as they are for now. That's all I meant to say about that."  
  
Lev reluctantly dropped the subject and the two of them sat there talking for a while. Once their food and drinks had been finished, as they were walking out of the cafe Lev not so casually reminded Yaku about the movie theater they'd be walking past soon. Yaku didn't object and as the two walked in, Lev was finally feeling himself fully calm down and start to actually have fun hanging out with Yaku. Sure the idea that he for some reason didn't want to get closer to him as Lev and not 'Alisa' bothered him but if he could at least have this time with him, Lev didn't mind so much being his second choice as he usually did.  
  
What Lev did mind was when they had gone to buy the tickets for a movie Yaku said he'd heard was pretty good from his teammates- one that to Lev's dismay, he had already seen and thought was actually pretty terrible -the person working the ticket window was Hinata. When he saw Lev, he actually thought that he might've been able to fool him long enough to get this over with, but judging by the way his eyes widened and jaw dropped when Hinata caught sight of them it was apparent that he wasn't fooled at all. Why the hell did it work on Yaku then? A desperate look from Lev later however followed by a mouthed 'Ohh' from the shorter boy was all it took for Hinata not to ask about it and as they walked into the theater he gave his tall teammate an encouraging thumbs up.  
  
After the movie, which Yaku had agreed was absolutely terrible even though Lev attempted to seem interested during it, they walked back to the station to board their separate trains home, this time idle chatter filling the silences that had been there the last time they walked there. The whole time Lev was trying his hardest to preserve the moment, because this may be the only time he'd ever get to experience this since he already decided what to do after this evening was over. The amount of times Yaku had smiled in the few hours they'd been out had been more than Lev's ever seen him do so in both practice and studying with him. Not to mention even the amount of times he'd blush, stutter, and apologize should he give casual touches that linger too long or say something that would surprise or confuse him. Those just made Lev all the more confused, but he could guess this much, even though it was mutually considered not a date, Yaku had wanted it to be.  
  
The train that'd be taking Lev home arrived first and as he said his goodbyes to Yaku he could tell that his senpai was holding back on something. Though when he had asked what was wrong, Yaku just waved him off saying he was just lost in thought and that it was nothing important. Lev gave him a curious look laced with concern but Yaku just shooed him off onto the train before the doors closed. He gave a final smile and a wave through the window, watching as Yaku returned the gesture before he walked back to sit down on the bench they'd previously been waiting at. Lev continued to watch him until Yaku's form was out of sight.  
  
\--  
  
Lev came home to the apartment more exhausted and feeling heavier than he'd ever thought possible.  
  
Slowly, he pulled off his shoes one at a time before dragging himself past Alisa's room, telling himself that he'd return her clothes later before slipping into his own room. Lev sighed heavily, letting himself fall limply onto the bed, an arm slung across his closed eyes as he thought over the day he'd just had.  
  
_Way too much happened today..._  
  
He could hear his sister's voice somewhere else in the apartment but didn't bother calling out to her. She'd no doubt want to know everything that had happened despite her being against the idea of him keeping up the charade Lev had boxed himself in, and at the moment all he wanted to do was sleep and put off thinking about what to do tomorrow.  
  
Just as he was about to drift into a hopefully dreamless sleep, Lev's phone buzzed twice several times in the skirt's pocket where it had been most of the evening. Groaning, Lev reached down and pulled it out, lazily tapping in the pass code to see that he apparently had gotten quite a few texts throughout the night that he'd apparently ignored along with a new one that Lev already knew he was too scared to open.  
  
**Nee-chan (⁎˃ᆺ˂) (2)**  
**Kuroo-san ヽ(ΦωΦヽ) (5)**  
**Kenma-san ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ (3)**  
**Hinata (০▿০) (7)**  
**Yaku-san o(* >ω<*)o (2)**  
  
_This is a problem for tomorrow._ He told himself that as he reluctantly tapped on the first notification on the screen.  
  
_Nee-chan (⁎˃ᆺ˂)_  
  
_Have fun on you're date Lyovochka!_  
  
**_I told you!! it's not a date!!_**  
  
_Still, good luck though!_  
  
  
_Lyovochka? are you home yet I thought I heard the door open but I didn't hear you_  
_hmm, ok well don't forget to tell me how it went ok?_  
  
He tapped the next notification  
  
_Kuroo-san ヽ(ΦωΦヽ)_  
  
_sooo you gonna tell me why Yaku was calling u Alisa?_  
_didnt mean to interrupt you two on ur first date_  
_come oooon you gotta tell me wat happened!!_  
_i promise i wont tell Yakjerinoedm scs_  
  
_sorry that last one was Kenma's fault_  
  
Tap.  
  
_Kenma-san ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ_  
  
_sorry about that_  
_kuro's an idiot_  
_you don't have to, but if you want to talk to us about today feel free_  
  
Tap.  
  
_Hinata (০▿০)_  
  
_HEYY!!!_  
_DID U GUYS LIKE THE MOVIE??_  
_I HEARD IT WAS PRETTY GOOD BUT THE CLEANING STAFF ALL SAY OTHERWISE_  
_LEV??_  
  
_Kenma text me that he ran into you two earlier!_  
_Kuroo thinks you were on a date though, were you??_  
  
_you two looked like you were having fun :)_  
  
  
Lev's finger hovered over the last notification. He locked the phone again, setting it aside on the floor.  
  
_This was exhausting to keep up for a day, there's no way I can do this any longer. I had my fun today, tomorrow I'll just have to accept my fate._  
  
Lev closed his eyes and laid there until he drifted off to sleep with one thought in his mind.  
  
_Tomorrow. I'll definitely straighten this out tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW ok this is kinda late but i had so much trouble writing this date scene for some reason but on the bright side im pretty sure ive memorized how to spell Lyovochka and found out listening to a piano cover of the miraculous ladybug theme on loop is surprisingly good writing music. is this chapter longer than the first which was way longer than i intended in the first place? heck yes. i would split them up more but ive already got a system to where the chapters end here so sorry.
> 
> ok aside from all of that HOLY CRAP 33 kudos, 3 bookmarks, and 189 hits on the first chapter?? i wasnt really expecting anything but wow thank you all so much everyone who took the time to contribute to all of that and thank you to Ran who's comment really made my day when i got it
> 
> i will attempt to have chapter 3 out soon than this one came but ive got some cosplay things this weekend so it may be a day late but ill try and have it out on time
> 
> anyways, as always please leave a comment/kudos all of that stuff if you enjoyed this and if i made any mistakes in editing please tell me so i can fix it. thanks for reading!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lev gets help on how to tell Yaku what he needs to- whether he likes it or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate summary: saveHaibaLev2k16

  
_Yaku-san o(* >ω<*)o_  
  
_LEV!!_  
  
  
_hey_  
_so, i dont really know how else to say this but...thanks. for today i mean. i had a really good time on our date. tell me_ _if you'd ever like to go on another one._

\--  
  
Tomorrow turned into days later.  
  
The day after their date, Lev had neither classes nor practice and on a regular day he would have been out with some of his friends or finishing off any extra homework he hadn't done but after yesterday Lev couldn't even make himself get out of bed. And since Alisa had already left for work he'd be alone for the most part of the day.

Yaku's texts were still left unread, and after the dream he'd had about their content Lev was afraid to look at them now. No matter what they said, it'd never be what he'd dreamed it had and the thought of that deeply depressed him.  
  
Groaning, Lev finally got up, realizing that he'd accidentally slept in his sister's clothes the whole night. Slowly in his half-aware state, he changed into some of his own clothing. He saw the blinking light on his phone screen out the corner of his eye and decidedly ignored it, shoving the device deep in his pants pocket.  
  
For the better half of the day, Lev stayed in the apartment. He'd occasionally feel a faint buzz in his pocket from his phone but he'd determinedly ignore it, not wanting to possibly see any more texts from Yaku after the dream he'd had.  
  
It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Lev finally couldn't take it anymore and finally answered his phone, not bothering to check to see who it was that was calling him.  
  
"Hello?" He groaned into the receiver.  
  
"Finally! Do you know how many times we've tried calling you what the hell, Lev?"  
  
Lev had to pull the phone away from his ear at arms length as Kuroo scolded him. He waited until it sounded like he was finished yelling to talk hesitantly again.  
  
"Sorry about that...yesterday was kind of, a lot and I guess I forgot to charge my phone?" Lev's voice went up in pitch at the lie. _So much for trying to cover my skin there._  
  
"Yeah I'm sure it was. That's why we weren't sent straight to voice mail when both me _and_ Kenma called, right?"  
  
"Um...yes?"  
  
"Riight..." Lev could practically hear him rolling his eyes when another muffled voice in the background spoke up. Kuroo covered the receiver and now both voices were muffled as they discussed something Lev couldn't make any sense of.  
  
"So Kenma, the love of my life, the apple of my eye, the chill to my netflix- OW! Kenma-! Babe, it was a compliment!" Kuroo sighed. "Anyways, he reminded me of the real reason why I called."  
  
"Which is..?"  
  
"To get the answer that you didn't give to my text yesterday." _Oh no._ "Why was Yaku calling you Alisa? What, did she have to miss their date and you were filling in for her, is that it?"  
  
"Would you believe me if I said yes?"  
  
"Nah."  
  
"Ok." Lev scratched the back of his head, trying to collect his thoughts. "Well, Yaku mistook me for Alisa."  
  
Kuroo let out a laugh on the other end. "Yeah I figured that much! Why were you going along with it though?"  
  
Lev mumbled out his answer, blushing furiously from both embarrassment and shame.  
  
"What? I didn't catch that." The same background voice, presumably Kenma's, spoke up again exchanging a few words with Kuroo before the phone was passed to him.  
  
"Lev? What's going on?"  
  
Lev puffed up his cheeks in a pout. "I thought you said I could talk to you two about this _if_ i wanted to?"  
  
There was a pause. "Well yeah, but then Kuro wouldn't stop asking and it got annoying," Lev could hear an offended noise in the background that was no doubt Kuroo. "also, you looked like you needed to get whatever this is off your chest."  
  
He didn't respond for a while, considering what Kenma had said. Finally Lev sighed and mumbled the same previous response he'd said to Kuroo to Kenma.  
  
"...ok? I couldn't hear you but ok."  
  
"Please don't make me say it, Kenma-san." Lev pleaded, his grip on the phone tightening.  
  
"...fine. But let me ask something else then. Do you like Yaku?"  
  
Lev froze.  
  
"Lev?"  
  
He panicked and hit the end call button before almost batting the phone away across the room.  
  
\--  
  
The next day they had practice.  
  
Lev had wanted to skip but ended up running into Hinata who had been running late because of 'stupid Yamayama-kun making me forget we had practice later today'.  
  
Now the two of them were in the locker rooms changing into their practice clothes while Hinata kept grumbling about his roommate. Lev was only partially listening, his thoughts a jumbled mess. _What am I going to say to Yaku-san? Or Kuroo-san if he asks about what happened yesterday? Maybe I can fake being sick? Or convince Hinata to go on without me and go home._  
  
"-How was it?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Lev looked up from the floor to Hinata, who was now staring curiously at the taller boy.  
  
"I said, you never responded to my texts before. How was the movie?"  
  
"Oh that. It was ok I guess"  
  
"So you're really _not_ listening to me." Hinata frowned at him sternly. "What's going on? Did your date not end well or something?"  
  
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against one of the lockers. _Why does everyone think that was a date?_  
  
"No, it was fine. It wasn't really a date though, we were just hanging out." Lev groaned, refusing to turn around to face the shorter boy.  
  
Hinata stared at Lev's back before walking over to his side. He leaned forward to get a frontal view of his face, a surprised and concerned look flashing over his features. "Lev? What's wrong?"  
  
The frustration that had been building up from everything that had happened over the past two days showed clearly as Lev turned to give Hinata a hard glare. "It's. Fine. Don't. Worry." _I'm tired of thinking about this. I wish none of this had happened. I wish everyone would just stop asking me about it._  
  
Hinata scowled at the response then pushed his way between Lev and the lockers, somehow managing to stare him down despite being significantly shorter. "No it's not! Because if it were really fine then you wouldn't be acting like this! You would have just answered mine _and_ Kenma's _and_ Kuroo's texts instead of having them call you a million times and then me cause they can't tell what's going on in your head or if you're ok or not!"  
  
He gave Hinata a hard stare as the shorter boy took a moment to catch his breath and calm down a little before looking up at Lev again, this time softer with evident concern.  
  
"It's not like we'd be asking all this stuff if we weren't concerned about it you know? At first I didn't think too much of it but after what Kenma told me- that you two talked on the phone and you suddenly hung up on him or something" Hinata added at Lev's sudden panicked expression. "That made me think that something went wrong later that day. So, whatever it is don't just keep it in so you can suffer alone! You can tell at least one of us this don't you think?"  
  
Lev didn't respond for a while. His frustration from the frequent questioning finally beginning to drain from him. In his head he was repeating the answer he'd never clearly conveyed the previous day to Kuroo and Kenma. _I don't know if this will help but..._  
  
"I think, I realized something but there's nothing I can do about it."  
  
Hinata tilted his head in question. "What do you mean?"  
  
He took in a deep breath to steady himself.  
  
"It doesn't really matter now but, I really like Y-"  
  
Before Lev could finish his sentence, the door opened and standing there staring at the two of them in surprise was Yaku.  
  
Anything Lev was going to say died in his throat as he stared back at his senpai in sheer panic. While Yaku himself was looking between the two, his initial look of surprise faded into something else that Lev couldn't distinguish before settling into a stern frown.  
  
"So this why you two aren't at practice? Fooling around in the locker room isn't a valid excuse you know."  
  
Hinata was saying something in their defense but Lev wasn't listening anymore. He needed to get out of there. At least at practice he could attempt to avoid Yaku and Kuroo's advances on him but here it was just him, Yaku, and Hinata who'd almost gotten him to spill what's been troubling him since his possibly date with Yaku.  
  
"U-uh actually I'm feeling kind of sick, I'm going to go home instead sorry." Lev didn't bother grabbing his clothes to change back to before he quickly left the room ignoring the calls in protest from both Hinata and Yaku.  
  
Not even two minuets after he managed to get away from the gym did Lev receive several texts from the two.  
  
Sighing Lev reluctantly opened the ones from Hinata.  
  
  
_Hinata (০▿০)_  
  
_HEY!_  
_Lev are you ok?_  
**_I mean it_**  
**_I like him_**  
_Huh???_  
**_Yaku-san._**  
**_I really like him_**  
_??? yeah I knew that? so?_  
**_huh??_**  
**_no i mean_**  
**_that's what was bothering me. that's the problem_**  
_that you like yaku-san?_  
**_yes_**  
_but you've liked him for a while??_  
_whats thr problem now?_  
**_i don't mean like how i used to_**  
_you mean like you wanna date him?_  
  
_lev?_  
**_yeah. i guess i do_**  
_then what's the problem then? just ask him!_  
**_i cant_**  
_why not?_  
**_because he likes someone else_**  
_EH?? WHO???_  
**_Alisa_**  
_?? you mean your sister? i didnt know they met_  
**_thats the thing. they didnt we did_**  
_????_  
_now im really confused_  
**_i did something stupid and yaku thinks im Alisa and now he likes her and kuroo-san and kenma-san knows it and now you know_**  
**_it too!_**  
**_now i cant even stand to be around him without feeling kinda sick after all of this_**  
  
_if yaku thinks you're Alisa and he likes her without having even met her then doesn't that mean he actually likes you?_  
**_not exactly. he said that he couldn't stand being near me any more than we are now_**  
_really? cause what you just said about being sick around him kinda sounds like something i heard the senpai talking about_ _once during a break_  
_like how you like someone so much being alone with them makes you so nervous you feel sick or something?_

 ** _Yaku-san doesn't even spend time with me outside of studying and practice_**  
_don't you think that could be a reason why then?_  
  
_I'll let you think that one over._  
  
\--  
  
_Kenma-san ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ_  
  
**_Kenma-san?_**  
**_can we talk?_**  
**_without Kuroo-san?_**  
  
_thats kind of what we're doing right now_  
**_i mean in person : <_**  
  
_fine_  
_where are you?_  
**_at my place you know the way_**  
_five minuets_  
_why do i feel like im going to end up being like a relationship councilor when i get there_  
  
\--  
  
"You can't just keep avoiding him like this Lev." Kenma sighed.

Roughly after the promised five minuets, Kenma found himself in the living room of Lev's apartment where the other seemed to be at war with himself on what he should do about his current problem despite his reluctance to accept Kenma's help when he'd initially offered it.  
  
"I know. And I even told myself that I'd tell him the truth but you have no idea how hard it really is Kenma-san!" Lev pulled up his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly. "He's going to hate me and if I told him that I like him he'd hate me even more!"  
  
"Hey, The reason you called me here was to help you right?" He stared down Lev expectantly.  
  
_And here I thought calling Kenma-san would make things easier for me to figure out. All he's doing is telling me stuff I already know! At this rate I'm going to have to quit the team, switch schools, probably change my name all cause I can't tell any of this to Yaku-san._  
  
Kenma waited patiently for an answer, gold eyes boring into Lev. He reluctantly nodded, only able to keep eye contact with him for a moment before he hid behind his long legs again.  
  
"He's not going to hate you. From what I hear he's actually pretty patient with you." He paused considering something before continuing. "He's probably worried about you, and you not telling him is only making you both suffer. It'd be better if you just get it over with, even if things don't end well."  
  
"...And what about the fact that I like him?"  
  
"I think you should handle these things one at a time. You did end up doing this because you wanted to only hang out with him more right?"  
  
Lev nodded.  
  
"Plus you've liked him for a while- it was kind of obvious." Kenma added at Lev's surprised open mouthed look. "Since you only recently figured that out, there isn't any rush for you to tell him unless you want to."  
  
"So, I should tell him tomorrow?" Lev asked warily.  
  
"I don't-"  
  
"The day after?"  
  
"Lev-"  
  
"The weekend?!"  
  
"Just tell him. The sooner the better." Kenma said sternly, glaring at him. "You can get to the rest of that stuff whenever you want."  
  
Lev cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What stuff?"  
  
"Lev-"  
  
"I-I'm kidding! Kidding! I'll try to." Lev held his hands up in a placating manner when a thought came to him. "Hey, actually how did you do it?"  
  
Kenma stared blankly at him. "Do what?"  
  
"Confess to Kuroo-san."  
  
"Oh." Kenma's cheeks pinked as he looked away, recalling the memory. "I guess I didn't really, Kuro did. So...you'd have to ask him."  
  
Lev nodded, pulling out his phone to tap out a message to Kuroo. Kenma's eyes widened when saw what he was doing and he threw a cushion at him.  
  
"Hey-!"  
  
"I didn't mean ask right now! Besides, Kuro isn't exactly a prime example on what to do when confessing to someone. Trust me."  
  
"It worked on you."  
  
"Only because we've known each other so long."  
  
"I thought he said you were what? The netflix to his chill or was it the chill to his..."  
  
"Why not instead of finishing that sentence you take that phone and text Yaku about this instead." Kenma said hurriedly trying to stop where the conversation was going.  
  
"I...Fine."  
  
"Good."  
  
"I still want to ask Kuroo-san about his confession though."  
  
"Do you want to tell Yaku or do I have to?"  
  
\--  
  
Another day had passed without a word to Yaku.  
  
Lev managed to return to practice, pointedly avoiding being alone with Yaku for too long but other than that everything seemed to be just like it was before. Yaku would occasionally give him a troubled look but otherwise he didn't confront any of Lev's previous distant behavior. He had to convince Hinata that he was going to be fine and everything would be alright, which in itself was a difficult task. Kuroo wasn't being any different than he was before this whole ordeal had stared either thankfully- though according to their conversation via texts however apparently Kenma had given him a bit of hell after telling Lev how it was they got together.  
  
Everything was normal, and Lev was about to make everything come crashing down again.  
  
He took a deep steadying breath, tightly closing his eyes before he finally got rid of the notification that had been bothering him ever since he'd come home from his date with Yaku. Slowly Lev opened his eyes and scanned over the several ignored texts displayed on the screen.  
  
There was enough new messages that it had managed to take up the entire screen, their last conversation hidden under the series of one sided texts Yaku had apparently sent him over the past few days.  
  
Kenma's voice rang in his head again. _Just tell him. The sooner the better._

He didn't bother reading them before sending a new message.  
  
_Yaku-san o(* >ω<*)o_  
  
**_Yaku-san?_**  
_so you're done ignoring me now or do you need something?_  
**_sorry_**  
**_I actually have something I need to tell you_**  
_shoot_  
**_in person would probably be better actually if that's ok?_**  
_will it take long?_  
**_I don't know_**  
_do you want to meet up then?_  
**_are you sure you have time for that Yaku-san?_**  
_it's fine_  
_besides_  
**_? besides what?_**  
_nothing. just come meet me at the gym. im heading there now_  
**_alright_**  
  
\--  
  
By the time Lev got there, Yaku had his back to him as idly tapped at his phone. He was suddenly reminded of when he was the one waiting for Yaku just a few days ago before their date. Most of his nerves had somehow faded away now that he was actually going to do it, tell Yaku the truth, but the space that it left was filled with fear that Lev had to force himself to ignore as he walked up behind his senpai.  
  
"Hi." Lev greeted quietly. "Thanks for meeting with me, I know you're kinda busy."  
  
Yaku furrowed his brows as he pocketed his phone, facing him. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, it's fine. So," He fidgeted in place. _Is Yaku-san actually nervous?_   "What was it you wanted to tell me?"  
  
Lev took in a shaking breath as he braced himself for the worst. "It...it has to do with what happened a few days ago, you know how you and uh- Alisa went out?" _No turning back now._  
  
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, what about it?" Before Lev could continue Yaku paled as his expression dropped. "Oh. You mean- look if this is about those texts I sent you just forget about it ok? I- it was late and I was kinda drop dead tired so I wasn't thinking straight then."  
  
"I-uh...wait what? No, I mean- wait what did you-?" Lev stuttered trying to comprehend what just happened. He reached into his pocket to fish out his phone before he was reminded of Kenma's advice to him  
  
_Just tell him._  
  
"I'm so sorry Yaku-san!" Lev shouted before he could stop himself, eyes shut tight and brows upturned in worry for several tense moments of silence before he could bare to look at his senpai.  
  
Yaku was staring at him widely with a surprised and almost...sad expression.  
  
"T-there's nothing to apologize for, Lev. It's not your fault."  
  
Lev shook his head. "But it is! It's entirely my fault! Y-you came in and thought I-I was Alisa and I just got scared of what you'd think of me if you knew that I sometimes try on her cl-clothes for fun but t-then you said you wanted to date her and-and I just-I didn't know how to tell you" His breathing was becoming more ragged with panic, the fear that had been building up over confessing all of this washing over him like a flood.  
  
"B-but I really really wanted to spend some more time with you so I took advantage of it a-and so that's why this is all my fault! I really like you though, and I'm so so sorry I ever thought this was a good idea to trick you but I-I just-!"  
  
"Lev! Calm down! I can't understand a word you're saying. What's going on?" Yaku grabbed his shoulders, immediately stilling him as he looked up at Lev, eyes full of concern.  
  
The two of them stayed like that for a moment as Lev regulated his breathing to a normal rate again, even so though he was shaking in Yaku's grip.  
  
"I...pretended to be Alisa to hang out with you. I'm sorry. You..you never actually met her. That was just me. It-it was all me." Lev choked out quietly, shamefully looking down and away from Yaku. "I-I'm so sorry."  
  
Yaku's grip on Lev slowly loosened before he let his arms drop limply to his sides. He studied Lev's features as if trying to tell if he was lying or not.  
  
"You're serious about that."  
  
Lev nodded.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Yaku took a step back, shaking his head. "No, it's...it's honestly my fault I don't know how I couldn't tell that from the..."  
  
"I have to go. Sorry Lev."  
  
"Sorry..." Lev muttered, his heart feeling heavy with the crushing weight of Yaku's response.  
  
"Don't apologize for this. It's..." he sighed. "I'll see you later."  
  
Yaku didn't move for a moment as though waiting for Lev to do something in response. He reached out to him, stopping just before actually making contact with Lev and heaved another sigh as he finally turned to leave.  
  
_I ruined everything_ Lev thought as sluggishly turned back the way he came to start on his walk home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuse as to why this chapter is late, im not even fully satisfied with it but i hope you like all the stuff i put this 194 cm child through. i should be ashamed of the chill to my netflix line but i loved it so much i couldnt bare to edit it out
> 
> that all being said i cannot believe theres so many views and kudos and comments just freakin wow im glad you're all seeming to be enjoying this thank you so much!! especially the comments! reading them always makes me so happy
> 
> the next chapter should be done on time on wednesday or ill try for it to be
> 
> please leave a comment/kudos all of that sort of thing if you enjoyed it and if there's any mistakes in editing please tell me so i can fix it
> 
> thanks for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lev wonders if everything's going to be ok with him and Yaku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate summary: checking your texts can be very important and feelings

  
  
"Lyovochka?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Lyovochka, you need to come out."  
  
Alisa waited for several moments in silence with no sign of any sort that her brother was even there. She sighed.  
  
"Forgive me for this." Alisa murmured before forcing Lev's bedroom door open to find him curled up under the sheets in his bed. "Normally I'd give you your space but I can't take seeing you like this for any longer!"  
  
Lev pulled the covers more over his head, turning away from her.  
  
Alisa sighed again as she took a seat on the little free space that was left on the bed. She reached over and placed a hand at the small of his back, beginning to rub soothing circles into it.  
  
"Lyovochka you know you had to tell him. It's not like you could just kept that act going on forever. You remember what I said when you told me? If Yaku-kun can't accept you for doing what makes you happy then he isn't worth it. You did the right thing."  
  
Lev just curled more into himself.  
  
"Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. Yaku-kun may just need some time to process this." She said softly. "Give him time, Lyovochka. He'll come around. I can't say that things will be like they were before but it will be fine eventually."  
  
Alisa pulled the covers off of Lev's head with one hand while she continued rubbing his back with the other.  
  
She brushed his bangs out of his face. "Hey, you want to go out to get something to eat?" Lev shook his head. "Are you going to practice tomorrow?" Lev offered no response to that.  
  
"You need to practice you know, you're the ace after all right?"  
  
Lev deadpanned then said with a pout, "Nee-chan, that's playing dirty."  
  
Alisa giggled and sat back as he sat up. "Sorry. But you know I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't believe it." She picked up Lev's phone on the bedside table and handed it to him. "You should probably charge this. I'm sure your friends are worried about you."  
  
Lev looked down at the back screen, stroking a thumb over it before sighing. "Yeah. I guess. Thanks Nee-chan."  
  
She smiled softly at him then got up off the bed, brushing off her skirt. "I'll leave you then, but you better believe it when I say I'll drag you out if you say you're not hungry later."  
  
He gulped and nodded at Alisa's threatening tone. She gave him another sympathetic smile before leaving his room. Lev sighed and took another look at his powerless phone. He'd been so upset about Yaku's reaction the other day that he hadn't bothered to charge it since.  
  
_Yaku-san...I wonder if he'll ever forgive me for this. He didn't really seem angry like I thought but he definitely wasn't happy with me either. Not like I can blame him. I wouldn't really want to forgive me either._  
  
Lev plugged in his phone and waited for it to turn on again. _He's gonna be mad at me for skipping practice the last two days. I wonder if he's still going to want to help me with receives and homework now? I don't know if he'd want to be alone with me for all that extra time._  
  
The phone buzzed twice as the screen lit to life and- wow. Apparently a lot of people messaged him while it was dead.  
  
**Hinata (০▿০) (5)**  
**Yaku-san o(* >ω<*)o (3)**  
**Kuroo-san ヽ(ΦωΦヽ) (6)**  
**Kenma-san ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ (4)**  
  
Ok, here we go.  
  
He started at the bottom and tapped on the notification.  
  
_Kenma-san ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ_  
  
_dont tell them about it ok?_  
  
**_no promises! :P_**  
  
  
_kuro said you didn't go to practice_  
_he asked me to text you to see whats up_  
  
  
_you told him didnt you_  
  
_thats actually good_  
  
  
**_thanks for the advice Kenma-san._**  
**_I don't think I could have if I hadn't talked to you._**  
**_tell Kuroo-san I'll be back tomorrow._**  
  
_ok_  
_but you should know hes reading this over my shoulder_  
  
Lev's phone alerted him to a new message and he tapped it, leading him to another chat.  
  
_Kuroo-san ヽ(ΦωΦヽ)_  
  
_so i know ur going through some stuff rn_  
_but the least you could do is give a heads up to when ur gonna skip_  
  
_Lev? you listening to me?_  
  
  
_ok one day i can forgive, i'm nice like that. but 2 Lev?? really???_  
  
  
_are you EVER going to respond to these?_  
  
_do we have to come over to your house or call the police or something cause i'm not sure if you're dead or alive right now_  
  
  
_JESUS LEV_  
_WAY TO TALK TO KENMA BUT NOT ME_  
_WHATS BEEN GOING ON HUH_  
  
**_sorry! I was reading them in order!!_**  
_YOU BETTER BE_  
_WHEREVE YOU BEEN?_  
**_can you stop yelling at me first?_**  
_dude. we're texting._  
**_well caps lock is like yelling_**  
_Lev._  
**_sorry! were you really reading what I said to Kenma?_**  
_yeah_  
_oh btw he's still mad at me for telling u but that's besides the point_  
_so you finally told Yaku_  
**_yeah._**  
_I knew that already_  
**_eh??_**  
_just because you didn't go to practice doesn't mean he skipped_  
_first thing he did was ask where you were actually_  
  
**_really?_**  
_yup_  
_he was kinda disappointed when you didn't show_  
_and today too_  
_i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you haven't talked to him since_  
**_yeah..._**  
**_did he seem angry?_**  
_nah_  
_just tired really_  
**_tired?_**  
_like he was overworking himself or something_  
**_oh_**  
  
**_you don't have to worry anymore though_**  
**_I'm going to be there tomorrow_**  
_i'll hold you to that_  
**_alright captain!_**  
_i mean it._  
_i'll hunt you down and drag you if i need to._  
**_ok ok!! I got it!! D:_**  
_i'm gonna go now but uh you should talk to Yaku ok? trust me._  
  
**_I'll try_**  
_try hard._  
**_what if he doesn't want to talk to me though?_**  
_what did i say? trust me. he does._  
_now if you'll excuse me i'm gonna help myself to some apple pie_  
**_Kenma's gonna kill you for eating it_**  
  
  
**_OH GOD DONT TELL ME THAT ⊙△⊙_**  
_was wondering if you were gonna get it_  
**_WHY_**  
_bye Lev (Wヮ￣)_  
  
Quickly Lev left that chat and blindly opened another. He shook his head trying to forget what he just read before focusing on the new conversation he opened.  
  
Oh.  
  
Lev scrolled up a little to reread their last conversation, then suddenly remembering something scrolled even further back.  
  
His eyes widened at what he saw.  
  
_Yaku-san o(* >ω<*)o_  
  
_LEV!!_  
  
  
_so your sisters nice. we had fun, just thought id tell you._  
  
  
_she reminds me of you a bit. makes me wonder whatd happen if we went out instead, even though i always tell you no. might_ _be nice you know?_  
  
  
  
_oh god did i really send that_  
_jeez just uh never mind that god thats stupid of me_  
  
  
_lev?_  
  
_when do you want me to help you study next?_  
  
_lev??_  
  
  
  
_Lev whats going on?_  
_I know youre not sick or anything like that so tell me what's up._  
  
_what did I walk in on back there?_  
  
_if you dont want to tell me then fine but dont just skip out on practice for just any reason ok?_  
  
_did you leave because of me?_  
  
_come on whats going on Lev?_  
_what happened?_  
  
_is it because I went out with your sister?_  
_we both agreed it wasnt a date if that makes you feel better._  
_I told you before, if it made you uncomfortable you shouldve said so._  
  
_I probably shouldnt have agreed to it in the first place huh?_  
  
_you never take this long to reply_  
  
  
  
_Lev come on_  
_please talk to me_  
  
  
  
**_Yaku-san?_**  
_so you're done ignoring me now or do you need something?_  
**_sorry_**  
**_I actually have something I need to tell you_**  
_shoot_  
**_in person would probably be better actually if that's ok?_**  
_will it take long?_  
**_I don't know_**  
_do you want to meet up then?_  
**_are you sure you have time for that Yaku-san?_**  
_it's fine_  
_besides_  
**_? besides what?_**  
_nothing. just come meet me at the gym. im heading there now_  
  
  
  
_hey_  
  
_Im not mad at you ok. I feel kind of stupid for not realizing it sooner and not that it makes things better but i did actually_ _think you looked good in your sisters clothes. it was also kind of my fault, you wouldnt have done this if I just agreed_ _to go hang out with you._

  
_shit that means I told you all that other crap to your face huh? sorry bout that. but remember when we went out and I said_ _I couldn't handle us getting any closer and thats why I never agreed? well its true. I didnt want to only cause Ive been_ _getting concerned about the affect youre starting to have one me, honestly this whole thing probably made it way worse than_ _it wouldve if I just hung out with you in the first place. Im actually not even that busy half the time. Im sorry for making you think_ _you had to pretend to be your sister to do that with me. I said a lot of stupid and embarrassing stuff and Im sorry. so, please_ _can we start talking again? Im not mad. I promise._  
  
Lev reread the texts once, twice, he lost count how many times he looked it over in disbelief. _He doesn't hate me. He...he doesn't hate me!_ A hesitant, genuine smile spread across Lev's face as he cradled the phone like it was something precious, not that he'd deny that with what he was reading on it now.  
  
_I've got to talk to him! But uh wait what am I going to say? And what did he mean by my affect on him? I should probably ask but-_ He looked down at the phone again and remembered the other notification he didn't check yet.  
  
_Hinata (০▿০)_  
  
_so did you figure out what i was talking about?_  
  
_Lev?_  
_LEEEEEEEEVVVVV_  
  
_you werent at practice today whats up?_  
  
_lev? is everything ok?_  
  
_SO GUESS WHO TEXT ME THAT YOURE COMING BACK TO PRACTICE!! :DD_  
_it was kenma!!_  
_ILL SEE YOU TOMORROW!!_  
  
**_sorry! I wasn't feeling good the past few days_**  
**_I'll be there tomorrow though so don't think you've suddenly got me beat cause you got 2 extra days of practice!!_**  
**_I'm still gonna be the teams ace!!_**  
_UWA?? YOURE  ON!! >:O_  
  
\--  
  
Though his anxieties had been mostly put to rest, the next day at practice Lev found himself much more nervous and jittery than ever before. He couldn't quite figure it out why he felt like this when Yaku himself had said that he wasn't upset and didn't hate him like he'd been fearing the whole time. He didn't even retract the comment that he thought Lev looked good in Alisa's clothes- something Lev wouldn't admit filled him with a warm glee more than the relief that he should have over his senpai not thinking he was weird or gross for doing so.  
  
Lev was greeted warmly back as he entered the crowded locker room where most of his teammates were. Those who knew a little of why he'd been absent like Kuroo and Hinata thankfully didn't mention anything, though he felt a distant shiver on remembering Kuroo's apple pie comment from the previous day. Everyone had questions for him but he just brushed it off for being sick and while it was nice seeing them all again, Lev couldn't help but frown slightly as he couldn't see the one person he'd been most excited- or was it nervous? -to see.  
  
Kuroo clapped a hand on his back while his eyes kept searching the locker room for their shortest teammate. "He's not here you know?"  
  
"Eh? Oh uh w-who's not here?" Lev smiled nervously trying to cover up the embarrassment at how apparently obvious he was.  
  
"You know. Yaku went ahead, he's already in the gym setting up. You should go help him."  
  
"Huh? Oh- yeah! I'll do that! Thanks Kuroo-san!" Lev said cheerfully before running out of the room.  
  
Hinata looked between the door Lev had just exited and Kuroo. "Was his shirt inside out?"  
  
"Yup." Kuroo grinned, turning back to his locker.  
  
"Does he know?"  
  
"Probably...not."  
  
Lev ran as fast as he could to the gym they used for practice, the anticipation of seeing Yaku practically eating away at him. Without a second though he threw the doors open, scanning the gym for the shorter boy until finally seeing him roll out a cart of volleyballs.  
  
"Yaku-saaaaan!"  
  
"Lev?-OOF!" Yaku couldn't get another word out before he was tackled to the floor by Lev in a crushing hug.  
  
Lev couldn't stop the string of questions that came out of his mouth while squeezing him tighter and tighter. "You really meant all that right? You seriously don't hate me? You're the best senpai ever! I don't know how I got so lucky to have someone as cool as you! You forgive me now right? Right? I promise I won't complain when you tell me to do extra practice or redo any of my homew-"  
  
"LEV! Get off!"  
  
Startled by his angry tone, Lev steadily climbed off of Yaku and sat on the gymnasium floor staring curiously at him.  
  
"Yaku-san?"  
  
To Lev's surprise, Yaku was glaring up at him- well that wasn't the surprise, the real surprise was how red his face was. He'd never seen him that angry before so reflexively Lev scooted back several feet away from him as Yaku picked himself up off the floor.  
  
"You should be a little more considerate of others before going off and doing stuff like that." Yaku grumbled, brushing himself off. "Someone could get hurt."  
  
"I'd never intentionally hurt you, Yaku-san!" Lev said quickly shaking his head.  
  
Yaku raised an eyebrow at him skeptically then walked off to continue pushing the ball cart out of the way. "So. You're done skipping practice then?"  
  
Lev stared at him worriedly. _Why is Yaku-san being so distant? Things are all good between us now...right?_ He hesitantly followed behind him, a fair distance more than he usually would but even Lev could tell that for one reason or another things between them were still on thin ice.  
  
"Yeah? Sorry I um, wasn't feeling well, I got sick."  
  
"Don't lie."  
  
"O-oh. Right, well uh do you need any help setting up Yaku-san?" Lev changed the subject quickly, trying to put on his  
normal excited face.  
  
"No. It's fine I'm pretty much done anyways." Yaku turned away from him, decidedly ending the conversation.  
  
"Yaku-san? Is everything ok?" a pang of doubt and fear struck Lev as he timidly asked, "Are you still upset with me?"  
  
He didn't face him but still shook his head all the same. "No, I told you didn't I? I'm not mad at you."  
  
"Then what's the matter?"  
  
"I- It's nothing." Yaku spun around to face him, eyes immediately softening when they met Lev's. "I just haven't been getting any sleep lately. Sorry, this had nothing to do with you."  
  
Lev frowned. This wasn't at all like how he'd thought his return to practice and first conversation with Yaku after confessing everything would have gone. _Was he really just saying all of that to make me feel better? No, Yaku wouldn't do that. He's always so blunt about this sort of stuff so he must've meant it._  
  
"Oh...well would you be ok to do extra practice with me later?" he asked Yaku hopefully.  
  
"I'm uh, not sure. Ask me again after practice if you want. We should start now anyways." Yaku nodded to the door as the rest of the team started filing in. "I'll talk to you later."  
  
Yaku walked off to start stretches with the others before Lev had a chance to protest, leaving him to stare worriedly at his senpai.  
  
Hinata jogged over to where Lev was still standing. "Hey we're doing warm ups what're you staring at?" he followed where Lev was looking and his smile dropped. "Is everything ok?"  
  
"I really don't know."  
  
\--  
  
Thinking over Yaku's texts, Lev wondered if this was how he had felt when Lev was avoiding him. During the entire practice while he'd eventually grown to be able to talk to and address Lev like he usually did, criticizing his mistakes and yelling when he spaced out, Lev could tell there wasn't really the full fire behind those words today. It sounded more like he was saying it because it was expected, not because he really meant it. Not to mention he wasn't giving him one on one pointers like he normally did unless it was really bad.  
  
_I don't get it. What happened with Yaku-san? I thought things were supposed to go back to normal now. Isn't that what he said? He's not mad at me so what's the problem then?_  
  
While they were cleaning up after practice Lev kept stealing glances at Yaku to the point where Kuroo had to literally slap some sense into him to get him to actually properly help. After quickly changing Lev waited outside of the locker rooms for Yaku to come out, but after nearly twenty minuets without seeing him Lev decided to duck back into the locker rooms to check for any sign of Yaku.  
  
"...an't handle this."  
  
Lev froze halfway in the door after hearing Yaku's voice. As carefully and quietly as he could, Lev walked further into the locker rooms, straining to hear more of what Yaku was saying.  
  
"This is getting ridiculous. What am I even doing? I'm stupid enough to mistake him for his sister and now I think I have it even worse."  
  
Still hiding behind another row of lockers Lev stopped in his tracks as he could practically feel his heart shatter at the words. _He really does hate me. All I do is make his life difficult for him._  
  
"Why did it have to be him? He doesn't even realize half the time what he does to me and I'm still...ugh," Yaku sighed and a sound like metal creaking reached Lev's ears. "Why did I have to like this idiot so much?"  
  
Huh?  
  
Shakily, Lev crept closer to where Yaku still was. "Yaku-san?"  
  
Yaku let out a string of curses and when Lev turned the corner he found him hurriedly stuffing his practice clothes in his gym bag. "Hey. Uh, sorry did you um..." Yaku tried to keep his normal stern look he used on Lev but it soon melted away with a mortified one instead. "Shit. Ok, how much of that did you hear?"  
  
Lev shifted in place, unsure of where to begin. "Well, uh, I heard you call me an idiot?"  
  
He deadpanned. _You know that's not what I meant._ Lev sighed and slumped down on one of the metal benches.  
  
"Ok, ok, I um I heard you say that I made things worse for you and I never know what I'm doing around you so..."  
  
Yaku sighed. "Before you ask I don't hate yo-"  
  
"I know!" Lev said loudly. "I-I know...you told me that. But, what did you mean by that last part then?"  
  
"I..." Yaku looked away, face flushing similar to when Lev had hugged him before practice. "What do you think that means?"  
  
"If I knew for sure I wouldn't be asking."  
  
"It means you've got an affect on me. One I'm having more and more trouble dealing with and it's just causing me trouble."  
  
Lev remained quiet for a moment considering this new information. "So, do I cause you trouble then Yaku-san?"  
  
For a second Lev thought Yaku might've tried to make an excuse to leave and was fully prepared to stop him from doing so when instead he sat down next to him.  
  
"Sometimes you do I'm not going to lie about that, but that's not the kind of trouble I mean here." Yaku took in a steadying breath before continuing. "I wasn't exactly planning on telling you but that just turned out to be a lot harder as time went on."  
  
At this point Yaku was completely red in the face and refused to look anywhere near Lev, firmly glaring at the floor. The expression would have had a little more effect if Yaku wasn't shaking like uncontrollably with nerves. Lev wasn't sure if this would make things worse if he really had the wrong idea with where this was going but he steeled his own nerves as best as he was able, turning to better face Yaku.  
  
"Yaku-san you always tell me when you don't want me to do something right?"  
  
"Huh?" Yaku briefly looked up in confusion, regretting it immediately as he now was frozen staring at Lev who's face was now barely a breath away.  
  
They stayed like that just staring at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to do something before Lev let out a defeated sigh. "I- I don't think I can do it myself, can you..?" Lev flushed with embarrassment at his own cowardice. He really thought he could do it and was ready to...until he actually got that close to him.  
  
To his relief though Yaku smiled, breathing out a short laugh.  
  
"Always having me pick up after you." Yaku said quietly before closing the distance between them.  
  
Lev's breath hitched, his whole body going rigid at the sudden contact before he began kissing Yaku back. Yaku cupped Lev's face with one hand, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. Though with their height difference it made the position rather uncomfortable for Lev, who instead put his hands on Yaku's waist to pull the other closer instead. Unintentionally this ended up with Lev falling backwards and laying length ways on the bench with Yaku pinning him down.  
  
Yaku looked down at him, flushed and slightly out of breath with his mouth open like he was about to say some reason for them to stop which Lev didn't like the idea of at all. Before he could think better of it Lev quickly leaned up and pecked Yaku on the nose, missing his lips entirely. Blinking in surprise Yaku stared at him then laughed softly, lowering himself back down to rest on the taller boy's chest.  
  
"Do I have to add kissing to the list of things I'm teaching you?" he asked teasingly, laughing again at Lev's offended expression.  
  
He pressed a brief kiss to Lev's pout, then another, and another until they had picked up right where they'd left off before. Yaku reached up to gently run one of his hands through Lev's hair while the other stayed on his face occasionally stroking his cheek with his thumb.  
  
Lev placed a hand over the one Yaku had on his cheek, turning it over to hold it instead. He wrapped an arm around Yaku's waist to hold him in place, allowing his hand to brush over Yaku's side, making him freeze and snicker into the kiss.  
  
Pulling away just enough to speak Lev asked in awe, "Yaku-san are you ticklish?" To which he huffed though his worsening blush betrayed him to confirm Lev's question. "That's so cute!"  
  
"Oh shut up idiot." Yaku said halfheartedly before roughly pulling at Lev's shirt collar to silence him with another kiss. While he was enjoying it this didn't stop Lev from abusing the new information as he continued lightly running his hands up and down Yaku's sides until he was squirming so much they ended up toppling off the bench and onto the floor with their previous positions reversed.  
  
"Ow..."  
  
"Ah, are you ok? Sorry Yaku-san-!"  
  
Lev's eyes widened at the sight of Yaku under him, looking slightly disheveled from both the kissing and the fall. He could already feel how red he must've been as he scrambled off of him to hide his burning face. A moment later, Lev felt smaller hands gently pull his away from his face and instead taking them to hold.  
  
"Why don't we get going?" Yaku suggested in what was probably the softest voice Lev had ever heard him use before.  
  
He could only nod in response, getting up after Yaku did as they left the locker room in silence.

Unsure of what else to say, Lev blurted out, "I really like you you know, Yaku-san."  
  
Yaku looked the opposite direction with a huff. "I'd hope so. Otherwise that back there might've been a little awkward." He said in an obviously faked exasperated tone, gently nudging the back of his hand against Lev's before holding it.  
  
"Hey Lev?"  
  
"Yaku-san?"  
  
"Uh, you go first."  
  
"No it's fine you can go, Yaku-san!"  
  
"Right uh," Lev gave Yaku's hand an encouraging squeeze, nodding at him to continue. "If you wanted to, I could...come over to tutor you again sometime soon."  
  
Lev tried not to show his disappointment and grinned broadly at Yaku. "Yeah sure that's fine! Wait, tutor me in what?"  
  
Yaku practically whispered his answer.  
  
"Eh? Say again?" Lev asked leaning down to Yaku's level much to the short boy's annoyance.  
  
"I said...in..dating. If you want."  
  
Yaku forced himself to finally turn and face Lev. His eyes full of a weary determination like it took everything he had in him to ask Lev this. And Lev couldn't be any happier.  
  
Lev picked up Yaku in a strong hug, going as far as to spin them around several times.  
  
"I'd love to! I'd love to! I'd really really love to!!" he kept repeating over and over happily as Yaku struggled in his arms.  
  
For probably the first time ever, Lev had never been more ecstatic to study.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate alternate summary: the author is super mad at themselves bc i couldve finished this on time but i thought i had enough time to watch the hq! stageplay and i was wrong(it is amazing though i love how they show the matches in that)
> 
> i hope this chapter was worth the wait though and id like to apologize if the kissing part is kinda awkwardly written even though ive done them before it always seems awkwardish to me. that all besides the pains over and now theres only one chapter left of Second choice and that is the epilogue. after that i've got two ideas for spin offs/sequels for this but im not sure which one im gonna do first. tbh im still so surprised at how many people take the time to read/comment/bookmark/kudos this im gonna be sad to see it go, thank you all so much for contributing to that!!
> 
> as always feel free to leave a comment/kudos and if i made any mistakes in editing please tell me so i can fix it. thanks for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doubts and feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate summary: Yaku finally meets Alisa and some things slip out
> 
> this is more a summary than the actual summary wow

  
  
"Aw come on Lyovochka! I can understand before but now? Why won't you let me meet him?" Alisa pouted from the kitchen where she'd cornered Lev right when he'd gotten home from class.  
  
"What makes it so different from before? It's not like anything's changed and besides Yaku's really busy we don't even have that much time for dates!"  
  
Alisa rolled her eyes. "That's not true and you know it, you're just scared that he's going to like me."  
  
"Am not! I-I know I was afraid of that before but Yaku wouldn't leave me now...I think." Lev added quietly. He tried moving Alisa out of the way so that he could finally get to the fridge like he'd originally intended to but she wouldn't budge, stubbornly staying put, hands on her hips.  
  
"You _think_? Don't you have more faith in your own boyfriend by now Lyovochka? You've only been dating for what, three months?"  
  
"Two months, and if things go well it'll be three this time next week." Lev said proudly, his face pinked slightly at the thought.  
  
_Three months...soon we'll be dating for three months!_ Lev couldn't help the smile spreading across his face. Even after all this time he still had a hard time believing that he and Yaku were really dating. The most he'd been hoping for when he'd made his feelings known to Yaku was that the older boy wouldn't be put off by it, Lev hadn't even considered the possibility of Yaku actually returning them.  
  
As much as he loved dating Yaku though, he couldn't deny one of his favorite things was how not too much changed between them. Yaku still scolded and occasionally kicked him should Lev thoughtlessly mention his height, and the majority of their time spent together was still during practice and tutoring. Now however, after he got hit Lev would receive a quick, shy kiss on the injury resulting in a blushing Yaku, that if Lev pointed that out in public would earn him another good kick. Also, along with extra practice and studying they'd go out on dates similar to the one they'd unknowingly gone on before. Nothing fancy, just hang out and do whatever they wanted together whether it was going out to eat, to a movie, or the arcade, and Lev was sure the happiest he'd ever been was during these times. He loved them so much that he'd often try to convince Yaku to stay out with him longer because he loved being with him during these times, and that feeling only multiplied when Yaku could actually agree.  
  
So the thought lingering in the back of Lev's mind that maybe he'd one day break up with him was a terrifying one that he'd always stubbornly try to forget and determinedly try to not show to Yaku. It was an unreasonable worry and he didn't want to ruin things when they were going so well by bringing it up. Though while Yaku to a certain extent he could convince now that there was nothing wrong, Alisa on the other hand was much more difficult to persuade whenever she got fed a lie as to why the two hadn't formally met yet.  
  
Lev hated lying to his sister, and while he should have learned by now not to lie to Yaku, he had convinced himself it wasn't _technically_ lying if he was just avoiding the subject altogether. He'd grown to be able to stand it when he lost friends in favor to Alisa, but he absolutely couldn't lose Yaku. It would have been like all of it had been for nothing but to give Lev some false hope. He'd rather live in ignorance of what could happen than see what would.  
  
"Next week huh? Your anniversary's on the fifteenth?" Alisa asked, finally moving just enough that Lev could squeeze by her to finally get some food from the fridge.  
  
Before he could grab any contents from it however he froze and stared at her in question. "What? No, it's on the eighth. Why'd you think it was on the fifteenth?" Alisa is interrupted by a loud knock that's far too close for it to be the front door. As Lev turns around he instantly pales at what he sees in the open doorway connecting the kitchen to the hallway.  
  
"So, your door was left unlocked again." Yaku says, ceasing his knocking on the door frame to wave awkwardly at them. "Hey."  
  
Both siblings mirror his wave, greeting him in unison.

"Hey, Yaku."

"Hello Yaku-kun."  
  
Yaku glances between the two of them. "Unless I'm seeing double, I'm guessing this is the _actual_ Alisa?" Lev can only smile and nod sheepishly at that while Alisa giggles behind a hand at the exchange.  
  
"And you must be Yaku-kun. Our Lyovochka is always talking about you," she leans forward and puts a hand to the side of her mouth as if to guard their conversation from being overheard. "he really adores you." She laughs at the light flush that overtakes Yaku's features.  
  
"Nee-chan!" Lev looks mortified at his sister's betrayal of his trust but he quickly returns his attention back to his boyfriend. _Boyfriend, it still feels unreal to say that!_ "What uh, what're you doing here Yaku?"  
  
Yaku stares at Lev like he's grown another head and a flicker of hurt flashes across his expression before returning to a neutral one. "Lev do you know what day today is?"  
  
Lev's mind runs frantically as he tries to recall the date, running through every possibility before Alisa clears her throat bringing both boys' attention on her. "Like I was trying to tell you, _today's_ the eighth, it's not next week."  
  
Yaku gives Lev an amused look as it dawns on him what a mistake he'd made. Lev on the other hand proceeds to freak out, a stream of apologies pouring out as he goes to quickly excuse himself to properly get ready for their date that they'd been planning for weeks prior. Yaku tries to tell him that it's fine and there's no need to rush but he'd out of the room and into his own before he can even finish the sentence.  
  
"He means well, he can just be a little scatterbrained sometimes." Alisa reassured, walking over to sit down on the couch.  
  
"Mhm, I know. I'm starting to think that maybe I should've got him a planner or a calendar instead for our anniversary." Yaku said glancing down to the room where Lev disappeared into fondly.  
  
Alisa waved off his statement. "Don't worry, I'm sure whatever it is you've got in store for our Lyovochka he's going to just love it." She patted the cushion next to her. "So Yaku-kun, hm...I'm trying to think of something to ask you but my brother talks about you so much I'm not sure what there is _to_ ask."  
  
He laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "He wasn't lying when he said he talks to you about me a lot huh? It goes the same way with you. You're really close, I can tell." Alisa beams at the comment as Yaku sits down next to her. "If you wouldn't mind actually, could I ask for your opinion on something?"  
  
She nods eagerly. "Of course, what is it?"  
  
"It's not really much and I wasn't expecting Lev to get me anything in return but I thought he might like this." Yaku pulls out a small lion phone charm out of his pocket. "I- well we agreed not to get each other anything, but I saw that on the way here and for some reason it made me think of him so, I don't know. You think he'd like it?"  
  
Alisa gingerly takes the charm and turns it over in her hands to inspect it. It wasn't anything special really, just a cartoon lion head with a huge open mouthed grin attached to a gold strap. Just looking at Yaku's expression though it was clear despite what he'd said that a good bit of thought was put into it and she smiles.  
  
"It's adorable, Lyovochka will love it." Alisa said handing it back to Yaku. "He's very lucky to have you."  
  
Yaku flushes red as he fumbles to put away the charm. "Why do you say that? I mean I feel more like the lucky one sometimes. I never thought he'd like me back honestly." He laughs remembering their sort of confession and settles into a warm smile remembering what happened after.  
  
"What?" Alisa laughed watching him. "What is it? You know, I'm not sure how long he's liked you for but I know it's far longer than three months. You shouldn't be worried on that."  
  
"No, no, I just...heh you really think so?" Alisa nods earnestly. "This is kind of weird for me, sorry. I don't know if you know but I kind of thought that I met you already a few months ago so..." Yaku's voice grows quieter towards the end of his sentence. _I still can't believe I never noticed right from the start._  
  
"Oh, trust me I know all about that. Lev makes a pretty convincing me though, don't you think?"  
  
Yaku's face is burning at Alisa's teasing. If Lev was unintentionally like this then Alisa was the exact opposite, but still he could tell that the two were fairly similar in their own ways. They both were a little too honest as far as Yaku had seen, but even so they were both very sincere and genuine in the way they talked and it was obvious to him that all that Lev had said about her seemed to be ringing true. _They seem so close. I wonder if that's what it'd be like if I had any_ _siblings._  
  
"He did look pretty good, I'm not gonna lie. I think I like it better when he's not trying so hard to lie to me though. Not like I blame him for what he did, it's not like there's much he could've done. Was he really that worried about me thinking him wearing feminine clothes was weird?"  
  
Alisa doesn't immediately respond and when Yaku looks up to her a surprised expression is gracing her features. She opens her mouth to say something, stopping to crane her neck to get a better view of the hallway before deciding to press on.  
  
"Yaku-kun, Lev may not like me telling you this but, do you know why it took so long for us to officially meet?" Yaku furrows his brow in confusion then shakes his head. "Hm. I figured as much. Well, when we were growing up and in high school especially, Lev had no real trouble making friends but for some reason whenever he'd introduce me to them more often than not they'd become more interested in me than him. So whenever he became close friends with someone he'd always be afraid of them meeting me in case that'd happen."  
  
Yaku's speechless at the somber tone suddenly filling the former light atmosphere after Alisa's story. "Are you serious?" She makes a small sound of affirmation and that just makes him feel worse, he doesn't know what to say. "Ok...so what does that have to do with him wearing what he wants?"  
  
"Before things were properly settled then, I think he was a little upset at how much you liked him as me and was afraid of how you'd react to the actual me. He'd never say anything about how it upset him to pushed to be the side like that, and there's a few people who this doesn't apply to of course so, I'm just glad one of them's you, Yaku-kun." She gave Yaku a warm smile that he didn't feel he rightfully deserved. "Lyovochka really does adore you as a friend and senpai, but I think he loves you even more as his boyfriend."  
  
Yaku sputters at that and he's at a loss of words. _I-I don't think I've ever heard that! She really is Lev's sister, no filter at all. Even though I'm sure it wasn't on purpose. I haven't even said that I love him yet._  
  
"I don't really deserve all that praise." he responds quietly.  
  
"What are you talking about? That's what he really thinks- you don't think he'd get all excited and flustered over me saying that about just anyone if he didn't really think it do you?"  
  
"But I'm not one of those people!" Yaku cringes at how sharp his tone is but quickly shakes it off. "I...I honestly liked him for a while but I wasn't going to do anything about it. I didn't think it was worth mentioning so I tried to just ignore it. Then when I thought he was you I...well I mean I was still really taken with him but I thought at least this way if it was you, then I'd still be close with him without ruining anything."  
  
_Hearing it all out loud now, it sounds a lot worse than I had originally thought it was. Then again so is pretending to be your sister and then basically setting yourself up on a date the person you like while pretending to be her._  
  
Alisa takes a moment to think over what he's said and part of Yaku's convinced he's about to get kicked out and be banned from dating Lev. "You and my brother really do have a lot of unnecessary thoughts don't you?"  
  
Excuse me?  
  
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" he doesn't have any idea on where this conversation just went and he doubts Alisa's going to make things any clearer for him judging by how hard she's laughing at his confusion.  
  
"Think of it this way Yaku-kun, that wasn't me, that was Lyovochka. You were all flustered and tripping over yourself when you saw him standing in as me but in the end it still was him. You're talking to the real me right now, but there's nothing special going on here for you right? Just meeting another person. So there's nothing to worry about."  
  
Yaku's still staring blankly at her and Alisa throws her head back to let out a groan. "You never could have liked me better because you just met me! You've only been with Lev from the start! You favor him over me no matter how you look at it."  
  
_Oh, so that's what she mea-_  
  
Their conversation's cut off by a loud crash from out in the hallway followed by a loud string of curses, some of which sound like they're in another language. Alisa winces and calls out, "Lyovochka? Are you alright in there?"  
  
"Fine! I'm fine! Almost done, sorry!"  
  
She shakes her head, amused. "How is it the one thing he knows how to say is swears..." _So that was Russian? Hm, I thought he said he didn't speak any. I guess you can't quite count swearing as knowing Russian though._ "Anyways, do you understand what I mean now-"  
  
"Uh, Nee-chan? Can you help me out a little here?"  
  
"Oh boy. I'm coming! Just think it over while I help your hapless boyfriend."  
  
"Hey! I heard that! Nee-chan!"  
  
Alisa rolls her eyes before excusing herself to go and see what Lev was yelling about. Yaku can faintly hear them talking but is quick to tune them out as he takes out the phone charm from his pocket to look it over again. _I've liked him for so long, and I was going to just ignore it this whole time. I never even knew he was that worried about all of this, if I really liked him or if I'd just abandon him for his sister. Even though I kind of made it look like I liked her more which is admittedly my fault._  
  
He ran a thumb over the details on the cloth charm, a small smile growing all the while. _Why was it I didn't want to tell him again? Just because we're in different years and will be graduating at different times? Cause I didn't know if he was interested in guys? I can't remember._  
  
Yaku's small smile was now a full fledged grin. _Alisa wasn't wrong, but she had it backwards, I'm really the one lucky to have him._  
  
"Yaku? What're you looking at?"  
  
He practically jumps a full foot off the couch at Lev's sudden question. Yaku stuffs the phone strap back into his pocket before turning to where Lev's voice had come from.  
  
What he sees leaves Yaku breathless.  
  
Lev had been unsure about wearing his sister's or any sort of feminine clothing since they'd started dating, even though Yaku had insisted several times over that he'd been fine with him wearing whatever he wanted, even saying that he'd liked how he looked in them. Still though, Lev's anxiety had prevailed and he hadn't done so since he'd been masquerading as Alisa as far as Yaku knew.  
  
Now though was nothing like when he was pretending to be Alisa.  
  
Lev was shifting nervously in place, awaiting Yaku's reaction in a dark red dress with white detailing on the bottom stopping just above his knees with a simple black blazer over it. It's honestly a very simple outfit but compared to what Lev usually wore it was something else entirely in Yaku's eyes.  
  
"Yaku?" Lev's wringing the bottom of the blazer in his hands nervously. "You're not saying anything."  
  
Yaku forces himself out of his daze and walks up to his boyfriend, he needs to keeps his eyes locked on Lev's otherwise they feel tempted to peek lower to his legs instead. _Why am I so fascinated with his legs in this? Our volleyball uniform's shorts are shorter than this!_  
  
"Y-you uh, you look good." Yaku manages to choke out past the lump in his throat. He doesn't need to even think about it to know he's probably sporting a dark flush right now. Yaku loved Lev for a lot of reasons, and he thought the way he regularly presented himself was attractive in its own way. Back when he'd be pretending to be Alisa also had been stunning. Though he had to admit, seeing Lev like this in clothes that looked like a mix of both, like something he could easily see being Lev's style while being more on the feminine side, took his breath away.  
  
"I would have picked out something better but uh- I'm so, so sorry I got the dates mixed up Yaku." Lev says guiltily, and he continues rambling apologies. Yaku thinks that he resembles something like a child that broke something important to their parents. They'd agreed to not make a very big deal about this just like the first two months, but it's apparent by how nervous he is Lev did the exact opposite and Yaku's cursing himself for not taking notice sooner.  
  
He grabs the collar of Lev's blazer and pulls him down for a soft, quick kiss. "You look amazing, Lev. It's ok." Yaku rests his forehead against Lev's as he speaks in a soft and low voice.  
  
Lev exhales a giant breath in relief that tickles Yaku's lips. "Ok..ok. I was kind of worried about what'd you say, and maybe that you wouldn't want to go out with me like this. Since, you uh know it's me this time."  
  
"Lev, I like it. You look great period b-but even more because it's you." Yaku can feel his face somehow heating up more than it already has, telling such straightforward compliments was never a strong suit for him. "You uh, want to get going now?"  
  
_I get it. Even in skirts or shorts, Lev's still Lev and that's more than I could ask for. How the hell he could ever be anyone's second choice is beyond me. They must be insane to pass up on choosing him. I guess that makes me lucky that he chose me too._  
  
Lev beamed and nodded. "Mhm! I'll see you later, Nee-chan!" he said as the two of them moved to the genkan to pull on their shoes.  
  
"Actually, Lyovochka, I think I'm going to go visit a friend sometime later so I'm probably going to be away until tomorrow. Just so you know." Alisa smiled in satisfaction as the realization of what she'd implied suddenly dawned on the couple and they soon sported matching blushes.  
  
"N-nee-chan!"  
  
"Is that what that talk was for?!"  
  
\--  
  
"So, um, what were you and my sister talking about?" Lev quietly asks as they start walking away from his apartment.  
  
Yaku hummed in response. "Not much. She teased me a bit about not recognizing you on our kind of first date. Just stuff like that."  
  
"Oh. Well, what um...what do you think of-"  
  
"You."  
  
Lev stared at him in surprise. "What? What about me?"  
  
"I'd pick you over her in a heartbeat. Any day. She's nice and I can see the appeal, but I like you. So don't forget it. I'll say it a million times if that's what it takes to get it through your head."  
  
Lev smiled and gave their intertwined hands a squeeze. "Thanks."  
  
"By the way, Lev?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You...you don't have to worry about what you wear as far as I'm concerned. You look good in general." Yaku tried to ignore the obviously surprised and elated look on Lev's face, knowing full well if he looked he might actually combust with how warm he was already.  
  
"Yaku? Can I call you by your first name?"  
  
"Do you want to kill me?"  
  
"Eh?! How would calling you Morisuke kill you?!" after a moment of silence with no response, Lev looked down and panicked at how bright red Yaku had suddenly became, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes wide in embarrassed shock. "Ahh! Yaku! Yaku-san!! I'm sorry I won't call you that again! I'm sorry!!"  
  
"Lev..." Yaku said, dangerously quiet. Lev became rigid with fear as Yaku released his hand and instead grabbed his wrist.  
  
"Y-Yaku?"  
  
He pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it into the palm of Lev's hand, curling the taller boy's slender fingers in to close the object in a fist.  
  
"That's uh, I saw that." Yaku looked away stubbornly, adding a quiet, "I was going to give it to you later but...If you don't want it it's no big deal. I'll just toss it."  
  
Lev pulled back his closed hand and held it to his chest protectively, shaking his head.  
  
"N-no, no! If you're giving this to me then..." his voice died out as he opened his hand, seemingly awestruck at the small strap he'd been given.  
  
"H-happy anni-"  
  
"I love you."  
  
They stared at each other, wide eyed and in shock at what Yaku had just blurted out. Yaku tried to follow up with something else but found himself instead gaping at his boyfriend, a total loss for words. Lev wasn't in much better shape either, he seemed like he was about ready to burst from happiness.  
  
"Y-you can call me Morisuke, if you really want to, by the way. It's just going to take me while to get used to it." Yaku mumbled, trying to change the subject, but Lev wasn't having any of that.  
  
Lev placed a hand on either side of Yaku's face and pulled him in for a kiss, peppering his face with several more after pulling away.  
  
Yaku tried to hold back a laugh to little avail, weakly trying to push Lev away. "I was being serious, Lev! Stop!"  
  
"I love you too, Morisuke!"  
  
Lev pulled Yaku in for a tight hug, resting his chin on Yaku's head. It would have been a sweet moment had Yaku not suddenly give Lev a sharp kick in the shin, making him let go to yelp in pain.  
  
"Saying such things and calling me that...that's just unfair to me." Yaku grumbled, looking away in embarrassment.  
  
"Ya- uh Morisuke, did you really have to kick me though?! You're such a tsundere sometimes." Lev pouted, bending over to rub at the new the sore spot. Yaku sighed and took Lev's hand, bringing it up to press a chaste kiss on his knuckles.  
  
"This is as close as you're going to get to me kissing it better right now. 'M sorry." he gave Lev's hand another small kiss. "I still say you prompted that though. Calling me by my first name and saying you love me all in one sentence, way to catch me off guard."  
  
Lev cocked his head to the side, confused. "Eh? But you said it first! And you also said that if I wanted to I could call you that!"  
  
"Never mind! Let's just keep going, we've been standing in this hallway for like five minuets." Lev frowned but followed him anyways as they made their way out of the building. After a couple of moments of comfortable silence Lev spoke up again.  
  
"Can I say it again? Both things?"  
  
Yaku gave Lev's hand a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"Mhm. As long as you mean it."  
  
Lev smiled and began to swing their joined hands as they walked.

_That's going to be a while then, since I don't have any intention of ever not meaning it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont really know how to start off this last end notes except with a huge thank you to everyone who's read this to the end,decided it was worth a bookmark or a kudos or your time to write a comment on how i killed you or made you cry or just your general opinions about my writing of these dorks. just holy shit this is my first ever multichapter fic ive finished ever and i did NOT expect even a fraction of all of this positive feedback so just holy crap thanks so much
> 
> im not as guilty as i probably should be since this is two days late but after looking at the end product and realizing this may actually be the longest chapter of Second choice yet i dont feel bad anymore, especially since it was meant to be the shortest oops
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing this and im kinda sad to see it go, but i did mention before i had ideas for sequels/spinoffs for it that i intend on writing very soon once i finish some one offs i have in progress, but i still am not sure which i should do first so i thought since this is the last chapter, i might ask any of you guys reading it to see if you had a preference on which you'd like to see next?  
> to simply put it, the first idea is a hinata centric one set after Second choice about him dealing with his roommate(which if you remember who that is +10 for you)and an ongoing unrequited crush and the other is a prequel about how kenma and kuroo got together this is set a few years roughly before Second choice began. both will be about the length of Second choice and even though theres nothing particularly special about this universe I like the idea of continuing on with it in the same sort of canon all the same so if you have an opinion i'd like to hear it! I hope you'll like some of my future fics or even some of the other ones I've already done if you want to check those out too
> 
> so for the last time on this fic, thanks so so much for reading!!


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